Town Meeting asked to fund fire engine for South Plymouth

Wicked Local South/Mariner (Marshfield, MA)

Oct. 3--PLYMOUTH -- Town Meeting wasn't in a spending mood when Fire Chief Ed Bradley said it was time to replace the engine at the Bourne Road fire station last spring.

Six months later, the engine is six months older and about to get more expensive to replace.

Bradley will once again propose purchasing a new, increased-capacity pumper for Station 4 when Town Meeting convenes Oct. 19. The cost, he said, is still $675,000, but will increase by 7 percent in November. And with increases from tariffs, it will probably increase even more next spring.

The engine is one of five funding requests the Fire Department will bring to Town Meeting floor, but the only one that requires borrowing and a two-thirds majority vote.

The department is also seeking supplemental funding to continue serving its disposal systems for hypodermic needles and money to pay for receiving 911 emergency calls.

The department will also ask Town Meeting to approve using its own revolving fund to fix an old engine and replace a pickup truck. The department has generated money for the two vehicles from selected license and permit fees, but needs Town Meeting approval to spend it.

Like the supplement funding for the 911 system and sharps disposal system, the engine repairs and pickup truck will need a simple majority approval.

A new Engine 4 is the big ticket item.

Bradley said the new engine would replace an engine that will have 17 years of service under its hood by the time it is retired, even if the replacement is ordered this fall.

The new engine would carry 1,000 gallons of water. The existing engine can only carry 750 gallons.

Bradley said the extra capacity is important for resident of South Plymouth because only Redbrook and the Ponds of Plymouth developments have fire hydrants. When firefighters respond to fires in the rest of the area, first responders are limited to the water they carry.

Bradley said the proposed purchase is part of a replacement program that has kept the department from having to make expensive wholesale replacements to its fleet of vehicles. The replacement plan includes using serviceable retired vehicles as backup engines, which has given the town a better fire insurance rating.

Bradley said the existing Engine 4 is ready for the scrap heap.

But Engine 3 in The Pinehills, which is about to be replaced, will be available for backup duty when The Pinehills station gets a new engine next month. The department wants to spend $54,000 to overhaul the existing Engine 3 before throwing it into backup duty.

The money would come from the revolving fund generated by fire department permit and licensing fees. The same fund would pay for the new pickup. The existing pickup is a 1991 model.

Supplemental funding is needed to service the Sterilis Medical Waste Processing System located at fire headquarters. The system grinds up sharp medical waste like hypodermic needles. It currently is operated about twice a day.

Bradley said the company that sold the system to the town went bankrupt, in part, because it offered to service all of its machines for free. The company that took over the business now requires a $5,000 annual service fee.

The department is also looking for supplemental funding to pay for providing 911 service to the town. Bradley said the new service charge is aimed at forcing municipalities to find regional solutions to their 911 needs.

Plymouth is looking to partner with a regional service located in Duxbury at some point. The funding request would pay the $1,200 monthly service fee through June.

The Select Board has recommended all five of the fire department requests to Town Meeting. The town's Advisory and Finance Committee has recommended all but the new engine purchase.

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