New Fire Department vehicles approved

Other action

SPRINGDALE — The Fire Department is looking to replace its brush rig and three other vehicles, and city leaders look to pay for the upgrade.

The City Council Committee unanimously recommended Monday the council provide the Fire Department $293,000 from the city’s Capital Improvement Project Fund to buy the rig and vehicles. The council meets at 6 p.m June 27.

Fire Chief Mike Irwin said he’s looking to replace a 1994 Humvee brush rig bought by the Fire Department in 1995. He’s also looking to replace three staff vehicles, including a 2006 Dodge pickup and two 2007 Dodge Ram pickups, with a full- size SUV, an SUV the size of a Chevrolet Suburban and a fullsize pickup. Those vehicles will be used by the assistant fire chief and battalion chief and cost a combined $135,000, Irwin said.

The current brush rig carries 250 gallons of water, which Irwin said is pretty standard. The new rig will carry 250 to 300 gallons and cost $ 158,000, Irwin said.

“It’s typically used for grass fires and fires off the roadways we can’t get to with a regular engine,” Irwin said. “These rigs are basically built for that purpose.”

The brush rig Irwin is looking to replace is his department’s only brush rig. He said many urban fire departments have one The City Council Committee also recommended the council approve buying 30 refurbished Panasonic Toughbook laptops for police patrol vehicles. The amount spent to purchase the laptops cannot exceed more than $27,750. The amount will be spent from the city’s Capital Improvement Project Fund. or two brush rigs. The old brush rig and one of the old pickups will be sold and the proceeds put into the capital improvement fund to replenish some of the money spent on a new brush rig and pickups. The other two old pickups will continue to be used by the Fire Department.

The new brush rig could be used in place of a regular fire engine for a temporary fire station built in the northwest corner of the city, Irwin said.

While a brush rig doesn’t carry nearly as much water as a fire engine, which holds 1,500 gallons, it has EMS equipment in it and can be staffed by two emergency responders. It would be the first responding vehicle used in the event of a fire in the northwest and would be supported by fire engines driven to the northwest corner from other fire departments in Springdale, Irwin said.

The Fire Department receives more than 150 calls from the northwest corner each year, and the department’s response time to that area is 15-18 minutes 90 percent of the time. The department’s response time to other parts of the city is 7 minutes and 23 seconds 90 percent of the time, Irwin said in December.

Irwin said he wants a full fire station in the northwest corner, but said a temporary station would work well for the area. Creating a temporary station would involve purchasing a residence and widening the garage to accommodate the brush rig. No other changes would be needed, Irwin said.

Mayor Doug Sprouse said during the meeting he’s more interested in building a full fire station and paying for it with money from a 2018 bond issue voters will be asked to vote on.

“I think a [ temporary station] is a great idea if you don’t have a funding option for a full fire station,” Sprouse said. “In this instance you do have a funding option.”

The bond would be a continuation of a sales tax the city levied for the first time in 2004, Wyman Morgan, city administrator and financial services director, said last week.

If the bond is passed, the existing sales tax would continue, not increase, said Melissa Reeves, public relations director for the city.