Town of Homer Looks to Contribute Towards Purchase of New Fire Truck For Homer Fire

The Town of Homer looks to contribute to the Homer Fire Department as the department looks to purchase a new fire truck that would replace two vehicles currently in service. During the Town of Homers board meeting Wednesday evening, they discussed contributing an amount of $10,000 for the purchase of the new truck. The Town Board is expected to officially vote on authorizing the funds during their next meeting in April. The money would be held in a Village of Homer account until payment is needed for the new truck.

The Homer Fire Department looks to replace their aging brush truck, 511, and Engine 501. The planned replacement truck will be International with a custom built body suited for the Homer Fire Department. The truck will have a 400 gallon water tank, 25 gallon foam tank, a pumper, and all the equipment needed for the department. Chief Riley had told X101 previously the truck would have everything you’d expect to see on a full-sized engine such as Engine 502 and on Truck 511.

The new truck would also be a significant savings for the Homer Fire Department with costs for a new fire engine now over a million dollars and an extended build time of at least 2 ½ years. The International truck is estimated to cost about $520,000 and take approximately a year to build from the order date. Another benefit besides the cost savings and build time is the ability for the new truck to go up smaller drive ways, narrow and weight restricted bridges such as the Pine Street Bridge safely.