Custom-built firefighting vehicle will be a 'quantum leap' for Geneva

Sometime in mid-2022, when a fire alarm rings in Geneva, a state-of-the-art, five-in-one fire vehicle will roll out from Station 1.

Aldermen gave preliminary approval Tuesday to ordering a Pierce Enforcer 110' PUC Quint Platform to be custom-built at a cost of no more than $1.2 million.

It's not just a fire truck. Or a fire engine. According to Geneva Fire Chief Mike Antenore, like an engine, it will carry hoses and ladders. Like a truck, it will carry firefighting equipment. It will have a tank for water, like a pumper. And, then there is the aerial platform, which can reach up to 110 feet off the ground for rescues and the ability to douse fires from high above.

"It's like a quantum leap (forward) every time we buy," Antenore said.

Antenore said the new vehicle will feature a "clean engine," designed to reduce firefighters' exposure to carcinogenic emissions.

It will replace Truck 206, a 1994 model Pierce Arrow. According to city administrator Stephanie Dawkins, Geneva plans to replace fire engines and trucks when they hit 25 years old. The most recent repair for the truck required custom fabrication of parts, as spare parts are no longer available, according to Antenore.

The city council delayed the purchase a year, due to concern about how the coronavirus pandemic would affect the city's finances. The city plans to sell the 1994 truck.

Alderman voted 9-0 at the committee-of-the-whole meeting in favor of the proposal. A binding city council vote has not been set yet. Once the contract is approved, it will take 12 to 14 months to build the truck.