Several new fire service vehicles are on the way for Greater Sudbury.

Out of the Greater Sudbury fire services’ 22 pumper trucks and three reserve pumpers, only five were built after 1999. That means 20 of these vehicles are more than 10 years old — eight of which are more than 20 years old.

Fire Chief Marc Leduc recently addressed council on the issue, requesting five new trucks, three stock pumpers within the next 60 days and two custom pumpers in 2010.

“It is extremely vital that we get those trucks to avoid a (pumper shortage) crisis in the near future,” Leduc said. “With council approving these recommendations tonight, hopefully within a period of 60 days or so, once we put the proposals out and select the successful bidder of the contract, we’re anticipating we’ll have these three new pumpers in the fleet. This will allow us to provide service at the level that we were providing service prior to this.”

Council granted the fire service’s request.

To put it in perspective, Leduc explained to council that the service is currently experiencing a pumper shortage.
Since amalgamation, there have been three reserve pumpers to replace 22 front line pumpers that required servicing or that are in the shop for breakdowns or repairs. Three of the pumpers, pumper 2, pumper 3, and pumper 26, have been removed from service as a result of “serious frame problems,” according to a report prepared by the fire chief, which he presented to council.

Stock pumpers are a more general, quicker fix to the immediate pumper shortage, according to Leduc.

“The three that we’re receiving now are what we call stock pumpers, they’re already pre-built, and that’s why we can get them once they are ordered, within a 30-day deliver.”

Custom pumpers, on the other hand, are made specifically for the needs of the fire department and take time to arrive, according to the fire chief.

“The custom pumpers usually take approximately a year for delivery. We’ve already ordered one this year, through our regular capital for 2009. So we have one already coming in 2010, with the additional two approved by council tonight, that’s three coming in 2010.”

Leduc said it’s been hard to maintain 22 pumpers on the road, without reserves.

“We maintain 22 front-line pumpers, that is the number of pumpers that we will have in service for the time being. As you know we can’t keep pumpers, or any vehicle, running steady. They have to be taken out of service for certification, for servicing, and for regular breakdowns. So in those instances, we don’t have a reserve pumper to replace (the front-line pumper) while the servicing is taking place.”

Leduc said this may result in shorter pumper response time, but not in initial response time by crews and other fire apparatus.

“It’s not uncommon to have one or two trucks, at the same time, out of service.

“The initial response time (to fires) will remain unchanged,” but it may take longer for pumpers to arrive, Leduc said.

A funding source for the purchase of three pumpers in the estimated amount of $1.5 million will be identified during the 2010 Capital Budget deliberations. Funding sources may include provincial grants, capital envelopes or reserves, according to city reports.

Industry best practices do not recommend a vehicle be in service for longer than 20 years, according to the report.

As an example, Kitchener has a 15 year replacement policy. They operate pumpers for nine years in a front line status and then downgrade them to reserve status for six years, according to Leduc’s report.

The average age of the service’s 22 front-line pumpers is currently more than 13 years old.

Council also approved that a request for proposal be prepared to hire an external consultant to assist fire services management with the development of a fleet management plan.