Tumwater committee moves new fire engine purchase to city council

Delivery in 3 plus years due to ‘global supply chain issues’

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The Tumwater Public Health and Safety Committee authorized the purchase of a new fire engine for the amount of $1,238,023 during a meeting on Tuesday, April 11.

The committee is bringing the purchase to the city council as a consent agenda item for the council to approve.

The new engine will be from Hughes Fire Equipment Inc from Springfield, Oregon, bought through a purchasing cooperative. Chief Brian Hurley said that it would take approximately 38 to 43 months to build and deliver the vehicle once the order is placed due to global supply chain issues.

The engine they are ordering is a 2026 Pierce Velocity Pumper manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing from Appleton, Wisconsin. It produces most of the firefighting apparatus in Thurston County, with Olympia and Lacey fire departments have also purchased from them.

Documents prepared for the meeting mentioned that if the Tumwater-Olympia Regional Fire Authority (RFA) is formed, the purchase agreement would be transferred to the new entity, which would make the payment using a $2 million public safety levy fund from Tumwater.

Crimmins said that the new engine would be equipped with a Cummins diesel engine that meets 2027 emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and would produce 75% fewer emissions than its predecessors.

The engine would also have better maneuverability due to its smaller wheelbase and shorter length than the last fire engine purchased by the fire department in 2019.

The new vehicle would replace a fire engine stationed at the fire department headquarters on Israel Road. Fire Department Assistant Chief Shawn Crimmins told the committee that the vehicle was purchased in 2012 and has already clocked 124,000 miles.

The purchase of the new vehicle would allow for the 2012 fire engine to be put into reserve status and another fire engine to be placed as surplus.

Tumwater and Olympia are working to create an RFA to address the increasing demand for emergency services. The public is set to vote on a ballot proposition on whether to form the RFA at the election set on April 25.

Comments

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  • BobJacobs

    Some years ago we toured a plant where fire engines were produced.

    We learned that there were no standard models. Every engine was custom. And the name of the fire chief who ordered it was prominently displayed as the engine was being manufacdtured.

    When I asked the guide why there were no standard models, which could be produced more cheaply, he stopped being warm and friendly and attacked me as an enemy of the fire service.

    Perhaps the factory that Tumwater is ordering from has the same policy. That would certainly contribute to the high cost of these vehicles.

    Bob Jacobs

    Wednesday, April 12, 2023 Report this

  • JW

    Bob, I imagine you're leaving a few key pieces of your conversation out.

    To the topic, I would imagine individual agencies across many different climates and city/rural settings benefit from customization as opposed to a one size fits all approach.

    Thursday, April 13, 2023 Report this

  • MartyKenney

    Seems rather expensive if you ask me, when the city is complaining if shortfalls in the budget. For $1m could the district instead buy a fleet of sprinter vans that are better on gas mileage and still get our first responders to the scene of 95% of regular calls? Maybe I’m wrong but is it really necessary to drive these engines 11,000 miles a year for calls that rarely involve actual fires? That’s 158 miles a day! Seems like a waste of money on buying a fancy new rig that isn’t really the right vehicle for the job…

    Tuesday, April 18, 2023 Report this