Presque Isle Fire Department looking to replace aging tanker

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) -

The Presque Isle Fire Department could soon have a new pumper tanker truck, to replace Tanker 1, a combination engine / tanker currently in use.

City Manager Martin Puckett says in the past, Council had looked at purchasing new, rather than used, equipment. That resulted in loan payments. To help lower the expense to taxpayers, the department has been budgeting money for nearly a decade to replace the old tanker.

“It will fit the need of what we currently have for a fire and ambulance department. So a used piece of equipment’s what we’re - what we’re gonna move forward with,” says City Manager Martin Puckett.

“We’re looking to get what we call a combination truck - engine / tanker - which means it can operate as an engine, which is what you would see pulling into a fire, first truck in, with lines, or operate as a tanker. So if we’re out in the country, we have a large water supply and the ability to come back in to a water supply, fill up, and keep shuttling water back and forth,” says Fire Chief Darrell White.

White says to maintain their ISO rating for insurance purposes, the department is required to have three engines for the city of Presque Isle. A new truck would cost around $750,000, while used runs around $300,000. Council recently authorized use of the department's reserve funds to purchase a used vehicle. White says he's in the process of finding a truck that best fits the city's needs and hopes to acquire one before the end of the year.

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