Hot Springs Fire Department's 1995 LTI tiller aerial truck has been a workhorse since it arrived at Central Fire Station 25 years ago.
The department used it to respond to a fire on Prospect Avenue earlier this week, but Fire Chief Ed Davis told the Hot Springs Board of Directors the department's flagship apparatus is showing its age.
"It's been well maintained, but at the same time it's becoming long in the tooth," he said at the board's May 11 agenda meeting. "There's certain things about it that are very maintenance intensive. A 25-year-old fire apparatus is still a 25-year-old fire apparatus no matter how you slice it."
The board will consider a resolution Tuesday night awarding a $1,999,695 contract to Emergency Vehicle Specialists for the purchase of a Pierce Manufacturing Inc. tiller aerial ladder truck and loose equipment.
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"Hot Springs Fire Department has a long tradition of having a tiller-drawn aerial device dating back to 1906," the fire department said in its request for board action. "The maneuverability of such a long apparatus is achieved by having two drivers, one in the front and one in the rear.
"The nimbleness of this device is much needed in the northern historic areas of Hot Springs where the streets are narrow and have tight turns. This type of apparatus can go into areas of town where most aerial devices cannot because of the two drivers. Hot Springs Fire Department will be one of only two fire departments in the state of Arkansas to deploy a tiller aerial truck."
Davis said the truck would be delivered from Pierce's Appleton, Wis., factory next year if the board endorses the purchase. Debt the state Constitution allows local governments to finance over five years would be used to purchase the truck.
The $135 million 2021 budget the board adopted in December included $2.95 million in capital expenses purchased with Amendment 78 financing. It included $2.24 million for a new ladder truck. In March, the board selected U.S. Bancorp Government Leasing and Finance, Inc. to carry the note at an interest rate of 1.29%.
The ladder truck was budgeted in the fire fund's firefighting equipment line item.
"This is something we have deferred for several years just because of the enormous costs for these ladder trucks," City Manager Bill Burrough told the board. "We were pleased the board, during the budget sessions, allowed us to get this in this year. It's one we've needed for several years."
Davis told the board the truck features the newest technology.
"It integrates both mechanical strength and the electronic capabilities that are available today that we couldn't dream of in 1995," he said. "It will be a very good device. It will be a device that will last for a long time. It's well made. There's a Pierce-certified service center in Conway.
"It's not the most expensive one we could buy. It's certainly not the cheapest one we could buy. There are cheaper alternatives, but I don't recommend them. For the money, this is the best bargain."
Davis said the 1995 model will be used as a reserve, telling the board retaining a backup will improve the rating that informs insurance rates for homeowners. The fire department has an Insurance Service Office rating of two, putting it near the top of the one-to-10 scale. Departments with lower numbers have better fire protection ratings than those with higher numbers.
"We don't have a reserve aerial device, and it costs us on our ISO points," Davis told the board. "The two we got rid of in 1995 and 2004 were in such poor conditions we couldn't continue to certify them."