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The Ellsworth Fire Department is set to buy a new $866,000 fire truck to replace a 19-year-old reserve engine.
The purchase will be the latest move in the department’s broader push to upgrade an aging fleet, replacing engines approaching two decades of use with new equipment and reshuffling other trucks to the department’s reserve fleet.
Once the city buys the new truck, the department will use it as a front-line engine and relegate one of its current active engines to reserve status. That engine, which is now the most expensive truck repair-wise, could serve for another five years as a reserve unit, Fire Chief Scott Guillerault said.
The City Council approved a bond anticipation note to finance the upgrade in October. After Guillerault presented a final proposal for the truck’s purchase during an April 6 council workshop, the council voted 5-2 to authorize the purchase at a special meeting Thursday evening. Councilors Steven O’Halloran and Patrick Shea opposed the proposal.
The new fire truck will be made by Pierce Manufacturing in Florida, and sold to the city by Allegiance Fire and Rescue, a New England-based equipment dealer.
The $866,000 proposal price would change if the department does not move forward with the deal by Friday, the chief said. The city might try to auction off the old truck for up to $75,000.
The department has two front-line engines, one tanker, one ladder truck, one ambulance and one reserve engine, Guillerault said, adding that the typical lifespan for a fire truck is 10 to 15 years.
The ages of the fleet’s vehicles vary: The tanker is 29 years old, the ladder truck is 16 years old and the remaining front-line engine is 14 years old. The youngest vehicle in the fleet is the department’s 6-year-old — and only — ambulance, Guillerault said.
The department has a contract with Northern Live Medical Transport for ambulance services. The city only uses its own ambulance when Northern Light is not available, Guillerault said.
Although Ellsworth fire may not transport each patient, the department responds to every medical call in the city. Last year, that was just over 1,700 calls, Guillerault said.
The department did not issue a request for proposals for the new truck, and instead directly contacted vendors for individual quotes. They chose the cheapest option with the quickest delivery time, Guillerault said. The truck should arrive in 13 months.
The city has previously come under fire for its bidding request process: After the 2022 city council voted to lease a new police station, a group of commercial property owners — and Councilor O’Halloran — sued Ellsworth, claiming the city had failed to provide sufficient public notice about the new police station’s proposal before council’s vote. A judge later dismissed the suit.
Since then, the city has tried to streamline its procurement process, most recently by adopting OpenGov — a platform powered by artificial intelligence — to manage proposal requests.
