The Chula Vista City Council recently approved the purchase of two new fire engines and a brush rig used for wild land fighting capabilities.
But firefighters say despite the purchase there is still an ongoing need for more fire apparatuses.
Darrell Roberts, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2180, said about 80 percent of the department’s fleet needs to be replaced.
“We need new apparatuses because they are aging, and because they will have some mechanical failure, whether an engine needs to be replaced or a water pump leak or overheating,” he said.
Roberts said the department expects to receive the newly purchased fire trucks in the next 10 months. Those engines will replace two older engines in their fleet.
The two older engines will then be stored in its reserved fleet.
The new engines cost more than $600,000 each, Roberts said.
City Manager Gary Halbert said the city will finance the new engines and the brush rig with the manufacturer at $200,000 over a 10-year period.
The city also purchased two brand new engines last year and, with the two new engines just approved, Roberts said there is a need for at least four more fire trucks and two ladder trucks that are about 13 years old. He also said there is a need for a heavy rescue truck.
Halbert said he’s heard the firefighters call for newer equipment, but the problem is balancing the budget.
“The reality is that their ongoing need far surpasses our ability to pay for it,” he said
Halbert said the department showed a need for the next three years for about $10 million worth of equipment.
Chula Vista Fire Chief Jim Geering acknowledges there is a need for the replacement of apparatuses.
“Because of the fiscal challenges that we had over the years, the city deferred a lot of our replacement costs,” he said. “So we are at the point now where our apparatuses are aging and in need of more repairs than what was typical and what we’re used to.”
One way the city can foot the costs of new apparatuses is to bring back the apparatus replacement fund, Roberts said.
The fund was eliminated during the 2007 economic downturn.
“When you look at it with the concern that we’re in as far as the need for 80 percent of our fleet being replaced, it’s definitely a financial impact (to the city),” Roberts said,
“But our hope is that the city would work with us, that way the funds are available when there is a need.”
Halbert said he supports bringing back the apparatus replacement fund.
“The problem is we have a huge pent- up demand for equipment that needs to be replaced,” Halbert said. “Even if we did start socking away some amount of money for a replacement fund it’s not going to deal with the deficit that we have right now.”
Roberts said, by fire industry standards, any apparatus that’s older than 10 years is considered outdated. He said the apparatus replacement fund would help with keeping the apparatuses up to date.
“We want the tools to be able to go out there and protect the citizens we swore under oath to protect,” he said.
Halbert said the city is trying to form a strategy that can meet the needs of the fire department while addressing the rest of the needs of the city.
“It’s not just the fire department, we are looking across the whole spectrum of the city’s assets and how do we address those asset needs,” he said.
“This is just one component of that. Ultimately it’s going to take additional revenues.”
