The purchase of a $1.06 million fire truck was approved Monday by the Hempfield supervisors, but officials don’t expect it to hit the streets until 2029.
Hempfield Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic said the pumper truck would replace one that is 30 years old.
“The reality is the delivery of that vehicle won’t occur until the beginning of 2029,” he said. “We’re 30 months out.”
The heavy-duty custom pumper truck will be manufactured by Sutphen Fire Trucks.
Hempfield has been working for the last few years to bring its community volunteer fire departments under one umbrella, referred to as a “nonchartered” process in which they become absorbed into the Hempfield Fire Department. In return, Hempfield manages the station and pays all of its expenses while volunteer firefighters continue to respond to calls.
That process has resulted in determining how to best manage the fleet as stations, all of which have their own trucks, become part of the township department. The truck would replace one used by Grapeville, but it’s unclear where the truck would be stationed once it arrives. Grapeville’s charter was dissolved in December.
The township department is moving toward a more modern fleet as many of the existing trucks are older, and could come with costly repairs, said township manager Aaron Siko. Eventually, the township will get to the point where a new truck needs to be ordered every three or four years.
“We’re already preparing for fleet concerns in 2030,” he said.
Supervisor Bill Bretz said the fleet management will become more sustainable as the number of stations and fire apparatus are reduced as part of the overall vision for the “nonchartered” process.
“We’ve got a little bit of right-sizing and right-aging the fleet there,” he said, “but this hump should level itself out soon and get onto the cadence that Aaron’s talking about, every three to four years.”
Hempfield this year added a 3-mill fire tax to the township’s portion of property tax bills to fund the $1.95 million public safety department. Three mills of taxes brings in about $1.6 million for Hempfield Township.
