Berkeley has agreed to buy five new fire department vehicles for $9.5 million to replace aging vehicles in the department’s fleet, berkeleyside.org reported.
The department wants its fleet to go electric, but in the short term, that will prove too costly, so it is sticking with diesel vehicles, the report said.
Two tractor-drawn aerials are projected to cost $4,451,658 or $2,225,829 apiece, according to the report. The three pumpers are projected to come in at $3,652,663 or $1,217,554 apiece. The city will finance the purchase by increasing an existing lease-purchase agreement with Banc of America Public Capital Corporation by just under $9.5 million, paying the trucks down over seven years, the report said.
This purchase will replace three pumpers and two aerial trucks that are nearing the end of their useful service life as frontline, initial response vehicles, according to the report. The aging vehicles will go into reserve status for possible use during special events, wildfire weather, and other larger emergencies or when frontline vehicles are out for repair.
Looking ahead, the fire department wants to move to all-electric fire apparatus, but that prospect is cost-prohibitive unless and until the department’s firehouses can be remodeled or rebuilt so that those vehicles can charge, and the prices of electric fire apparatus decrease, according to a memo from a city official, the report said.
