Apparatus Replacement Problem Will Not Go Away Unless We Act On It.

"Fire Apparatus Replacement program:  80 thousand. This is not the year 

to put aside money for a new truck. Let Gormley work with the fire dept 

and see how their treasury could be utilized"

Maybe we should bring back the bucket brigade.  That is apparently how Mr. DeAngelis would handle fire protection in Town. Former First Selectman, Ed St. John and Elaine Strobel have stalled apparatus replacement since 2002.  We now have a condition where the Town is facing replacing multiple pieces of apparatus, not just Engine 2.

In the winter of 2003, Mr. St. John sat down with the Fire Department Officers and discussed a way to bond a package that would replace Engine 2, refurbish or replace Engine 4, and refurbish or replace Rescue 1.  Mr. St. John called it a “global plan.”

However, after Mr. DeAngelis FOIed the MVFD for documents showing the Mr. St. John used Ph.D. on MVFD documents, all bets were off. Mr. St. John blamed the MVFD and Chief Perrotti for handing over documents that were required by FOI law.

Consequently, it appeared that Mr. St. John decided to punish the MVFD and most notably Chief Perrotti in any way he could.  This included stonewalling the apparatus replacement.  He used the Fire Commission, and the Consultant to further delay any decision-making process. It would seem that it was a waste of taxpayer money to have paid a consultant $9000.00 to tell him what he already knew in 2002.  Even after the consultant recommended replacement, Mr. St. John still did not act. Still no pumper, nor Rescue truck.

Now in 2008, the prices have gone up, the American LaFrance bid is no longer valid (because of the delay), and the new piece of apparatus will most likely cost more than what the Town could have purchased from American LaFrance.

Here is the wake up call.

Engine 3 20 years old

Engine 4 21 years old 

Engine 2 27 years old

Rescue 1 30 years old

Engine 1 17 years old.

Engine 3 is the main attack piece for the Town.  If your house catches on fire it will most-likely be Engine 3 that will be the first at your door. It is a critical piece of apparatus.  If you live on the West end of Town, depending on the time of day, you may get Engine 4 at your door first. Both of these pieces are over 20 years old and should be replaced as first due pieces.

Engine 2 should be sold, and a new Engine 2 should be purchased.   It takes almost one year to build fire apparatus.  The new Engine 2 takes Engine 3’s place.  Engine 3 goes to the Westend station.

Now we have another problem.  There is much new development on the West end of Town.  If Engine 3 is no longer adequate as an attack piece for the East end, then why should the West end get it?  The answer is, they should not.  That is why soon after Engine 2 is ordered, the Town will have to start planning on replacing Engine 4.  Engine 3 would then replace the current Engine 2 as a second alarm piece.

After the new Engine 4 is ordered something will have to be done about Rescue 1.

If Mr. St. John had acted in 2006 when the MVFD requested him to (see White Paper), Engine 2 and Rescue 1 would have already been replaced.  The MVFD would now be making plans to replace Engine 4.

The outcome is that apparatus replacement has been delayed for political purposes and the Town of Middlebury has a serious problem that will not go away.  Mr. Gormley has inherited this problem from the former First Selectman.

Each year the Chief provides the Town with a long-range apparatus replacement plan and each year it seems to be ignored. Delaying apparatus replacement only worsens the problem and may start to affect the Towns ISO which means higher insurance rates for all of us.

People come to the Firehouse and many say that the apparatus looks brand new.  It looks that way because the MVFD takes very good care of their fleet. However, the exterior of apparatus can be misleading of what is happening on the inside.  It is the engine and pump along with the firefighters that put out fires, not the shinny red paint.

The Town needs to do what Mr. St. John spoke about doing in 2002.  We need a global replacement plan.  If a piece of apparatus fails at a fire, it will not be the MVFD’s fault.  The community has been warned.

Not putting money aside each year for apparatus is foolish. $80,000 will probably not even pay for the airpacks that need to be purchased for the new Engine.  It is just a drop in the bucket of Mr. DeAngelis’s bucket brigade.