The City of Lisbon will be getting a new fire truck in roughly two years.
At the Feb. 12 city council meeting, the council approved using Local Option Sales and Service tax funds to pay for the chassis of the fire truck to be purchased from Alexis.
City administrator Brandon Siggins said that the city left language in the contract that would allow them to cancel the deal if the engine they were to get was not the one they were ordering to have made.
“We were clear that we don’t want to be a guinea pig of a new motor,” Siggins said.
The total cost for the chassis will be $299,381, and full cost of the barebones truck will be $641,491. Siggins said that the fire department will conduct fundraisers over the next two years for the additional add-on equipment needed for the truck.
By purchasing now, the city will save roughly $150,000 by not adding on a new emission approved engine to the piece of equipment.
Greg Landon with Alexis Fire said that they are running three to six months behind on orders, so it will most likely take that full two years for the truck chassis to be ready for delivery.
Landon said the new truck will have a lifespan of 20 years.
Danny Patten with the Lisbon Fire Department said that they currently have an Alexis pumper truck in the fleet, and that pumper’s water pressure routinely tests better than many other fire trucks in the area.
“It’s the reason we want to go with Alexis for this new fire truck,” Patten said.
This truck will be a pumper/tanker truck, and Siggins said, will extend the life of other trucks on the fleet.
“We want to keep our older tanker truck as long as possible, because especially when we’re rolling out to a rural fire, it’s nice to have that much water ready for a rural fire,” Siggins said.