After going without a ladder truck for some time, the South Jacksonville village board has approved the purchase of a used ladder truck from Jacksonville Fire Department.
The board voted 5-0 Thursday to approve the purchase of the truck from Jacksonville Fire Department for $200,000.
South Jacksonville Fire Chief Rich Evans Jr. said the village will pay for the truck in one payment with $170,000 coming from the village and $30,000 from fire department fundraising.
The discussion has been ongoing for some time as the board sought several options before committing to the purchase.
Evans said he felt the truck from Jacksonville was the best fit for the department.
“We are required to have a ladder truck because of the number of hotels and the grain elevator,” Evans said.
While the Jacksonville department responds to South Jacksonville calls through mutual aid, Evans said the department still needed its own truck in the event the Jacksonville department cannot respond with its ladder truck, as well as for the village’s insurance rating.
Without the truck, Evans saidit could have lowered the village’s insurance rating, which could cause fire insurance rates to increase for village residents.
The South Jacksonville Fire Department has not been able to use its ladder truck for some time after an inspection showed the ladder was rusting from the inside.
The truck the department is purchasing is 10 years newer than its current truck. It is a 2002 Pierce 100-foot aerial platform ladder truck.
Evans previously told the board he was looking for a platform ladder because it is safer for the firefighters.
As the truck from Jacksonville is similar to the one the department owned, Evans said training will be significantly easier for the department.
“Compared to what we needed to have, “this is exactly what we were looking for,” Evans said. “It’s similar to what we have so training will be much smoother.”
Discussions between the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville departments about the purchase have been taking place for some time. Originally, the department was going to sell the truck for more than $300,000, but decreased the price and discussed a multi-year payment schedule for the truck.
At the South Jacksonville board’s May meeting, the price was still $250,000 to be paid over three years. The departments and the board agreed to the final single payment of $200,000.
The department will take possession of the truck after Jacksonville’s new ladder truck is put into service.