The Fenton City Council is considering purchasing a new bush vehicle for the City of Fenton Fire Department. The council is expected to vote on the proposal at its next meeting on Monday, August 12. The topic was discussed at the council’s work session on Monday, August 5.
Fire Chief Bob Cairnduff told the council that the fire department had been putting off replacing its 1993 Dodge bush vehicle for several years. He said it is now 31 years old and needs to be replaced. The fire department typically keeps a vehicle in service for 20 years.
This is a planned purchase with funds from the fire department’s truck replacement fund. Funds are available.
Cairnduff said a committee to replace the trucks was formed in June 2023, including himself, Lt. Jeff Shook and firefighters Mike Johnson, Ryan Jenema and Ian Oaks. Cairnduff said the committee spent many hours researching a new vehicle.
Initially, the committee felt that most of the recovery of the skid unit in the current truck should be done by itself, but it was eventually decided that attempting to use the 30-year-old skid unit was not the best option.
The committee attended the Fire Department Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in April. They met with a representative from CSI Emergency Vehicles in Grayling and discussed the project. CSI put together a proposal for the committee.
Cairnduff said the truck committee originally estimated the total cost of assembling the unit itself at $100,000, including the chassis price of about $54,000 for a Ford F-350 Super Duty.
CSI’s quote was $133,080, including a $10,000 contingency fund, for a total of $143,080. The price quoted by CSI includes the $51,473 chassis price for the 2024 F-350 Super Duty.
Cairnduff said that given the time and effort required to build the truck and the staffing shortages the fire department is facing, he asked CSI Emergency Apparatus for approval to purchase a new Ford F-350 bush truck with all lifting equipment and hardware for $133,080.
