The City of Richmond is ordering two new fire trucks to the tune of $2.4 million.
A request for proposals was issued by the city for four new trucks, but Richmond Fire-Rescue asked council to approve only two, a quint – a truck with a 75-foot ladder – and an engine.
The quint they are replacing is 19 years old and has 282,000 kilometres on it. The city has paid $130,000 in repairs to the truck in the past year.
The engine will be a new purchase and will accommodate 36 new fire fighters being hired to work for the fire department. Twenty-four new fire fighters have come on board to Richmond Fire-Rescue and another 12 are expected to be hired in the future.
The fire department also wanted to replace its hazardous materials truck, which is 21 years old with 136,000 kilometres, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expected revenue shortfall, this was dropped from the request to council.
The current hazmat truck can be maintained for another two years, according to the city.
However, it has old technology, explained city spokesperson Clay Adams, that’s “not in alignment with operational needs of today.”
Council approved the purchase at its Monday committee meeting.
The money will come from the fire department’s budget, which as $3.5 million for four new vehicles. There is another $1 million in unallocated reserves for fire department’s budget.
