Fall River looks to feds for $2.5 million loan to replace firefighting apparatus

FALL RIVER — For the third time in nearly as many decades, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could be key to the city replenishing the Fall River Fire Department’s fleet of fire apparatus, this time through a $2.5 million loan secured through the Community Development Agency.

This third wave of HUD loans, if approved, will be used to purchase a replacement for the department’s Aerial Ladder Truck 4 and Engine Pumper 9, which is planned to be housed in the Flint/Reney/Eastwood Fire Station on Eastern Avenue.

The application needs a nod from the City Council which is expected to vote on Nov. 22, but it’s a deal for city taxpayers with the CDA paying back the loan in full, rather than through the general fund.

Mayor Paul Coogan said he confident that the $2.5 million loan will be approved, saying the council has always been supportive of public safety.

“It gives us an opportunity to upgrade the fire department, which of course we all support,” said Coogan.

Fire Chief Roger St. Martin said replacing the two apparatus with new models gives the department an opportunity to replace two aging trucks, with the existing engine pumper being 25 years old and the ladder truck purchased back in 2004.

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“We call them spares, but anytime one of our frontline vehicles need repairs, those spares become frontline apparatus, and everyone uses them. So, they are in service probably 60 to 75 percent of the time,” said St. Martin.

Most recently, the spare equipment was called into service on Monday night during a five-alarm fire that destroyed Burns Power Tools.

“They have to be ready to go,” said St. Martin.

Major fire equipment upgrades in 2016

In August 2016, HUD approved a similar loan for nearly $5 million that changed a fire department with deteriorating and beyond aging fleet, to state-of-the art firefighting equipment.

In the three-year loan, the city through CDA purchased three engines, a heavy rescue truck, ladder truck, a Chevrolet Tahoe and other fire equipment, at a cost of more than $3.5 million in the first year.

In the second year, the city outfitted the department with $137,700 worth of assorted fire equipment like hoses and nozzles. In year three, another new ladder truck along with assorted tools at nearly $1.3 million was delivered to the department.

Prior to 2016, the city had not upgraded most of its fleet in 20 years.

If the loan is approved, it will fund $1.8 million for the new ladder truck and $700,000 to purchase the engine pumper.

Design and construction of fire truck apparatus usually takes from 18 months to two years for delivery to a municipality.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River CDA seeks $2.5 million HUD loan for new fire apparatus