Wheaton considers leasing ladder truck
Maintaining aging fire equipment can get expensive.
Wheaton fire officials say the department has spent roughly $120,000 over the past three years to keep its 1993 aerial ladder truck on the road.
To avoid such costs in the future, leaders are considering a plan to replace that vehicle with a new ladder truck the city would lease - not purchase.
"By turning over and leasing that vehicle, we are rotating it out of our stock before these major repairs that have been occurring," Fire Chief Gregory Berk told the city council this week.
If council members adopt the plan, the city would lease a 2008 Pierce aerial ladder truck for seven years at an annual cost of roughly $140,300 - or about $982,000 total.
Councilman Howard Levine questioned the benefit of the leasing proposal, noting the city could buy the truck for less money. The estimated cost of the vehicle is about $945,000, according to the lease proposal.
But unlike most new cars and vans, Berk said the ladder truck doesn't come with an extended warranty if the city buys it. The dealer is only offering a bumper-to-bumper warranty if the ladder truck is leased.
"If we purchase it outright, the cost of any repairs would be ours," Berk said.
Because of the complexity and size of ladder trucks, Berk said they begin to experience significant mechanical issues after about seven or eight years.
"We're going to get somewhere between 70,000 to 80,000 miles on that vehicle (over the course of the lease)," he said. "That's pretty much the life of a vehicle like that."
In addition to the leasing proposal, staff is recommending the department's fleet be reduced to four fire engines and one ladder truck. It currently has five fire engines and two ladder trucks.
Until now, the department has operated those vehicles for up to 20 years. After reviewing the fleet's repair and maintenance expenses, a special committee is recommending ladder trucks be replaced within nine years. A 12-year life cycle for fire engines also is suggested.