This 21-year-old Franklin fire truck is about to be replaced. The department is spending $500,000 to purchase a replacement for the basic model.

The old drilling rig has a history of more than 20 years.

Its leather seats have cracks in the seams after 21 years of use. During countless runs to car accidents, fires, and medical emergencies, the cabinet has scratches caused by removing and storing equipment. Some of the equipment and technology on board are outdated, but they can still be useful.

The cost of replacing the fire truck: about $500,000.

City officials say this is less than the Franklin Fire Department’s previous expenditures on new fire trucks. In the past, the fire chief chose to customize the vehicle by adjusting the size of the truck compartment to fit the current equipment. He said that since the equipment will be upgraded long before the truck, the fire chief Matt Culp chose to stick to the basic model to save taxpayers money.

At today's price, the starting price of an engine is usually $650,000, and it will become more expensive after customization. In comparison, the last new engine purchased by the city in 2016 was approximately US$825,000. The city’s fleet manager and street commissioner Brett Jones said that prior to this, the city had spent $625,000 in 2010.

Culp said that by purchasing a demo truck directly from a dealership, the city was able to buy the truck for approximately $97,000 below the asking price. This is a new truck that was originally purchased by a dealer as a showcase model. He said that dealers will not display the truck, but will send it directly to the city after it has been manufactured and inspected.

The total amount of purchase and equipment for this truck is approximately US$575,000, which comes from the City’s Accumulated Capital Development Fund. He said the amount is the price of the truck plus $75,000 in equipment, excluding several pieces of equipment Culp purchased for the engine in this year's budget.

This truck is cheaper than bought in the past without sacrificing quality. He said the new engine is the same as the emergency No. 1 vehicle already in use by the city's fire department.

"Brett and I tried to find the best model," Culp said. "As the head of the department, I think it is my responsibility to obtain value for citizens."

The department equips each of the city’s three fire stations with an engine and a spare engine for replacement during maintenance. He said that the engine being replaced is the city's backup engine, currently in use at station 21, while the main engine of the station is under repair.

It has exceeded the industry-recommended service life by approximately six years. Jones said that under normal circumstances, a truck is used as the main response vehicle for 10 years, and then used as a backup vehicle for 5 years.

This is long overdue.

Earlier this year, its engine had to be replaced at a cost of thousands of dollars. This is a fee that the department has no choice but to pay because it takes about 18 months for the new car to arrive after the order is placed. Culp said that like other automakers, fire truck manufacturers are also facing shortages of parts due to the pandemic.

They said that because the city’s replacement plan has expired, the replacement plan should have been implemented long ago, but Culp and Jones are working on a replacement plan that they plan to keep up with.

The next purchase will be a ladder truck to replace the 16-year-old model of the department. It is estimated that the cost of replacing the ladder car is more than $1 million. Culp said that depending on the age of the ladder truck, he hopes to replace it in the next few years.

He said that once the ladder truck is replaced, as long as there are funds in the budget, the city's old engine is planned to be replaced every five years.

Replacing the remaining three cars in the next 10 years will cost taxpayers at least US$2 million.

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