MARLBOROUGH – The Marlborough Fire Department is closer to securing a new engine.
On Monday, April 8, the City Council followed the recommendation of its Finance Committee, and it approved a request to transfer $786,500 from free cash toward the purchase of an E-ONE fire engine.
According to Fire Chief Kevin Breen, the department currently has a 20-year-old reserve engine used when another engine is down or for mutual aid.
He told committee members that the engine is “in bad shape” and needs to be taken out of service because it may not pass its annual safety inspection.
According to Breen, obtaining a new engine from the factory takes from 36 to 42 months. A quicker way has been to check for “stock trucks” – vehicles either already in production or used for demonstrations.
The department has located such a vehicle – an E-1 Typhoon with a stainless-steel frame.
According to Breen, it will be a “fully loaded, Class A pumper.” Now that the transfer has been approved, the vehicle will be assigned to Station 2.
The transfer would cover the base cost of the engine; there will be an additional request of $70,000 to cover the cost of additional tools and equipment.
Delivery of the pumper truck is scheduled for November.
“It’s a great opportunity to get it at this time,” said Breen.
“I would like to commend Chief Breen for his creative and forward-thinking approach in securing this engine,” said Mayor J. Christian Dumais.
