The members of the Chatfield Fire Department in Chatfield, Minn., have many reasons to be proud each and every day, and with the new fire truck they designed now in service, there is one more reason added to the list.
The Chatfield Fire Department started working on getting a new fire truck in January 2015 by bringing information, including pricing, to the Chatfield City Council and also explained where the money for the new engine would come from.
In February 2016, members of the fire department traveled to the plant in Ocala, Fla., where they spent 12 hours meeting with two engineers designing the exact fire truck they wanted by going over 18 pages of line items.
“We designed it,” states Chatfield Fire Chief Ryan Priebe, adding, “there is not one thing that we didn’t go over” when designing the fire truck.
The $575,000 E-One fire truck is not only the newest and largest in Fillmore County, it is undoubtedly the most expensive.
The fire truck was paid for from several sources. “Pull tabs is our main source of money,” says Priebe explaining, “we put anywhere from $60,000 – $80,000 a year in our truck and equipment” fund from pull tabs.
Additional money came from selling two of their old fire trucks. Their 2001 engine was sold to the Lanesboro Fire Department in Lanesboro, Minn., for $150,000 and a rescue truck was sold to the Pillager Fire Department in Pillager, Minn., for $90,000, all of which went towards the new engine.
Additional funds were obtained through the township and the city who each contribute $20,000 per year, which is accrued until the fire department is ready to purchase equipment.
Priebe notes, “We budget 20 years ahead,” so there is a plan to upgrade trucks and equipment on a rotating basis. “We have a capital goods plan laid out for the next 20 years” and know when replacements are planned.
The fire truck was originally budgeted for $550,000, but while meeting with the engineers they deleted some things, added others, and made some changes. The end result was an added cost of $25,000, which the city council also approved.
Some of the additions made were upgrading both axles which, “We are really glad we did,” states Priebe, explaining that it rides much better and feels safer with the upgrade. They also added locking rear differentials and the new engine also has disc brakes instead of drum.
It was an advantageous time to purchase the new fire truck for a couple different reasons. First of all, the fire department has combined two trucks into one. The new fire truck is their back-up engine, as NFPA rules state each fire department must have two engines, and is also their rescue truck. “We combined two trucks because it’s going to save us money over time,” states Priebe.
“By doing this, by combining the two trucks, between the next rotation of trucks we saved about $700,000,” states Priebe, adding, “we saved a lot of money by doing it that way” and they did not have to borrow any money to purchase the new fire truck.
Selling the other two trucks made sense at this time because “they were worth the most right now than what they were going to be” in the future and “we got top dollar” for the ones we sold, notes Priebe.
The new engine was purchased from Fire Safety USA of Rochester, Minn., and was built specifically for the City of Chatfield, with the chassis and cab made in Ocala, Fla., and the body built in Hamburg, N.Y.
It was driven from Florida to New York and then eventually to Rochester to the distributor. The members of the Chatfield Fire Department then emptied out their old trucks and brought the equipment to Rochester to have everything placed in the new truck.
Put in service October 10, 2016, Priebe says there are a lot of firsts with this truck. Firsts not only for the Chatfield Fire Department, but also for the E-One Company.
The new engine has rescue tools in the front bumper, including the jaws of life and a foam line. It is the first time that E-One has put a foam line in the front bumper. Everything is already hooked up, so in the case of a car fire, the fire truck can pull up to the car and the tools are handy and ready to go.
There is a portable hydraulic pump located in a side compartment, which is used for the jaws of life and other equipment. Four hydraulic tools can be used at once with this pump, which the Chatfield Fire Department has never been able to do before, as they were limited to the use of two hydraulic tools.
“That’s huge,” says Priebe, because “there is no wait” once they arrive at a scene. Now four firefighters can work to take a vehicle apart at the same time, using the necessary tools to free anyone inside the vehicle, which makes the task much quicker when seconds matter. There is also a larger hydraulic pump located on the top of the fire truck when needed.
The cab of the new engine is the biggest cab that E-One makes; the tallest, the deepest, and the longest. Six firefighters can ride in the cab comfortably.
The lights on the fire truck are all LED, including light bars in different places. The older fire trucks had Halogen lights which did not last as long as LED. A night scan, which is a big tower light, is in position on the top of the cab and can be raised to light up to an area of approximately 250 feet to provide a visual aid at night. “It really lights up,” says Priebe.
A notable difference when looking at the new engine is that, for the first time in Chatfield, the fire truck is not completely red in color. The top portion of the fire truck is gray while the remainder is red with a gray stripe.
Another big difference with the new engine is a stainless steel body and piping. E-One was offering a deal that if purchased before January 1, 2016, the fire department would receive a free stainless steel upgrade, which was a $25,000 value. The stainless steel body will also help with resale value in the future.
Another first is an accountability board in the cab – it is the first time E-One has placed an accountability board in a cab and the first time the company has made one. An accountability board is used to keep track of everyone while on scene.
There is a vertical multi-colored light bar on the side of the engine that is actually a gauge for the water tank; as the water level goes down the lights go down with it. A hundred feet away you can look and see how full your water tank is, which is very convenient while fighting a fire.
The new fire truck also has a lot more storage space for equipment. In fact, “It carries what was on both trucks, plus more, plus we have extra space – and we have more stuff,” states Priebe.
“We are very, very, very fortunate,” says Priebe, not only to have the new engine, but also to have the equipment that they do.
The City of Chatfield and the surrounding area are very fortunate to have the 26 members of the Chatfield Fire Department at their service in a time of need.
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