Friday, April 19, 2024
Refurbishing a fire truck rather than buying a new one saves hundreds of thousands of dollars, county officials said.
Reconditioning the county's 20-year-old fire engines is just part of the Commissioners Court's plans to strengthen firefighting capabilities in the growing county.
Engine 26, used by the North Hood County Volunteer Fire Department, was recently returned to the county after undergoing a months-long refurbishment.
The county is approaching the halfway mark in refurbishing fire engines for the county’s nine volunteer fire departments.
At about 20 years old, the fire engines have already exceeded their life expectancy, which, according to Hood County Fire Marshal Jeff Young, is 10-15 years.
Refurbishments basically make the equipment good as new, according to Young and County Judge Ron Massingill, and they extend the life of the equipment while saving taxpayers a considerable sum.
Both said that new fire trucks can cost around $1 million, or close to it.
Refurbishments, while costly, are much less expensive.
“For a third of the cost, you get another 10 years out of it, and they look real good,” Massingill said. “They function very well.”
At the Tuesday, Feb. 22, regular meeting of the Commissioners Court, Massingill and the county’s four commissioners gave Young a green light to move forward with a refurbishment of Cresson Engine 39.
The motion was made by Precinct 1 Commissioner Kevin Andrews, chief of the Lipan Volunteer Fire Department. It was seconded by Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson.
The amount approved for the refurbishment was $325,000.
The recondition will be done by E-ONE based in Ocala, Florida. The company will have six months to complete the work.
According to Young, if the work is not finished within that time frame, E-ONE will reimburse the county $100 per day for each additional day until the truck is returned.
He said that the company does a “down-to-the-frame restore.”
Young said, “They replace seals and moving parts and gaskets and basically rebuild the truck from the ground up. All of the lighting packages are updated.”
The trucks come back “almost new,” he stated.
“Basically, what we’re doing is, we’re hoping to buy another 10 years of service out of these trucks by doing these refurbs,” the fire marshal said.
The county has already done make-overs on fire engines for the Granbury, Station 70 (Oak Trail Shores), and North Hood County volunteer fire departments.
Young said that E-ONE contracts with a company that transports fire engines to and from the refurbishment site.
Massingill said that the Commissioners Court wants to protect volunteer firefighters “racing into danger.”
He stated, “We want them to have the best equipment that we can possibly give them, and a refurbished fire truck really works as well as a brand new one.”
The court is researching how best to address the needs of the volunteer fire departments considering the county’s rapid growth.
Plans might include expanding current fire stations, including adding ambulance bays, or even building new facilities in some parts of the county, but no decisions have yet been made.
