Radcliff purchases new fire truck

Radcliff jumped on a bid Tuesday night to purchase a new rescue pumper truck that will give the fire department more options and allow them to replace two aging vehicles.

Radcliff City Council approved a bid from KME Kovatch at roughly $497,000. The city will receive an estimated $12,000 discount on the bid price by paying $450,000 of the cost upfront, the amount budgeted for the truck this year.

The remaining balance will be rolled into the following fiscal year, Mayor J.J. Duvall said.

The new truck will replace two 1980s model vehicles, said Fire Chief Jamie Henderson. Rather than purchasing two or three new vehicles, the city decided to merge the costs into one large purchase, which Henderson said will assist the department considering it will roll out less equipment from the station.

“On one hand, it’s saving us money,” Duvall said Tuesday night.

Henderson said the city plans to designate one of the trucks as surplus property while the other will be retired and painted pink as part of the city’s pink fire truck initiatives for cancer awareness.

Henderson recommended the bid from KME because it is cheaper but also because of the safety features with which the truck would be equipped, including airbags in the cab.

The truck will be built to the city’s specifications. KME projects completion in about nine months while the other bidder, Ohio-based Sutphen, called for nine to 11 months. Sutphen offered the higher bid of roughly $547,000.

Council members asked if the city could have received a larger discount by paying the full amount upfront, but Duvall said it would have only made a $1,300 difference and did not appear to be the most practical step for the city at this time.

Henderson said KME will deliver the truck to the city as part of the purchase agreement. Should the city transport the truck, it would be responsible for any flat tires or problems occurred during the drive, he said.

The fire chief indicated the city should not need another fire truck for several years and has an agreement to refurbish and upgrade trucks once they start showing signs of age. He estimated the next refurbishment won’t be needed for 7 to 10 years.

The city also approved an emergency purchase of $5,500 to upgrade pumps needed to operate its jaws and spreader extrication devices used to remove motorists from their vehicles during wrecks. One of the pumps started malfunctioning during the holidays, leading the city to use its service agreement with High Tech Rescue in Louisville for repairs.

A problem was found in the hydraulic system and Henderson said the city was given a quote of roughly $4,000 for repairs. As an alternative proposal, the company offered to rebuild and upgrade the two pumps, which improved their speed. Radcliff chose the upgrades, equipping the city with two new pumps. Henderson estimated the pumps run twice as fast now.

The work already has been done and Henderson said the city is fully operational again.

Marty Finley can be reached at (270) 505-1762 or mfinley@thenewsenterprise.com.