FREDERICKTOWN – The Fredericktown Community Fire District will take delivery on a new custom Engine/Rescue truck in mid August from Pennsylvania manufacturer KME (Kovatch). The FCFD entered into contract with the manufacturer in October of 2013 on the truck that came with a price tag of $498,885.00. KME is a leading manufacturer that is a privately held and has been in operation since 1946. Their main office is situated in Nesquehoning in the eastern portion of the state.
“There was extensive research done by our committee among several vendor prospects, talking to representatives, looking at demos, and peer departments. We knew we wanted something that worked for how we run our department,” said Fredericktown Community Fire District Chief Mast.
The new rescue will be a KME Predator Panther custom cab with seating for five, a light tower, onboard 15kw PTO generator, foam system, 1500gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank, and around 400 cubic feet of storage space to accommodate a wider scope of tactics than currently able to. These are just the small details of the truck that runs on almost 100 percent of the FCFD calls on a yearly basis.
“It’s the workhorse of the department its reliability and capability are crucial for the operation of our fire district,” said FCFD Chief Mast. “The homework and the long hours put into planning the new rescue will help it be a part of our fire district for quite awhile. With the help of KME we created a truck that we feel meets our current and future needs.”
It was no surprise that the current rescue that the fire district operates was up for replacement as they have an ideal life cycle of the trucks before they become too costly to maintain. Keeping a fire apparatus at a high level of readiness and in top condition is no easy task and something firefighters don’t take for granted.
“In the past our vehicle replacements have been on a 15 year cycle. We feel now with our increased maintenance programs and work on the trucks and repair that we hope to extend to a minimum of 20 years or more from it,” said FCFD Chief Mast. “Custom fire apparatus such as this have proven to be more reliable than off the line truck.”
The truck being replaced was purchased in 1998 and referred to as a “commercial” style apparatus, meaning simply that they take a cab/chassis that is pre-built from a manufacturer such as International and outfit it into a fire truck. A problem with the truck for several years has been the need to add more equipment, but no space and ability to keep it under the weight rating. More recently however the focus has turned to the overall health of the chassis and body.
A six person committee to research, recommend, and design the new truck was officially formed in April of 2013 and comprised of members with a variety of experience and tenure. Members volunteered their time and chose to step up to be a part of something that will make a long-term decision to benefit the community.
The process up to the signing point with the chosen manufacturer took well over 500 personnel hours and over 2600 miles traveled to attend tradeshows, conventions, truck manufacturers, and open houses. That was just part of the process that included almost daily emails, text messages, phone calls, multiple drawings, and a constant flow of information from manufacturers. Most importantly was that the time spent on the planning and design project of the committee came at zero cost to the community.
“This truck is custom to how we want to run and how we need to function here at the FCFD versus making our needs fit a truck,” said Chief Mast.
Several manufacturers went through the process of customizing a truck that was built off the needs of the truck committee and specifications that they decided. Three top manufacturers chosen by the committee had their information placed in front of the fireboard for approval back in August of 2013 for the decision to be made.
“KME was responsive to our questions, ideas, and worked to provided what we wanted and not just what they wanted to build us. I feel it will be a great relationship between the FCFD and KME,” said Chief Mast.
The rescue from KME is a fully customized truck built from the frame up that has had every minute detail reviewed to make this an effective long-term solution for the district. Over the winter and spring, FCFD officers and committee members have constantly been working on the project.
This purchase is by far the largest that the fire district has completed and will be done without taking on debt with a loan or asking taxpayers for additional funding. The replacement was of no surprise and been a topic for the last several years that this was on the horizon to allow saving for it. A portion of the money for the purchase came out of the 2013 budget with the remainder sometime before delivery in mid August of 2014.
“We constantly work to project what our expenditures are going to be. We look as far into the future as we can and try to stay accurate,” said Chief Mast. “We are very fortunate in our community support and that they choose to vote for our levies as they come up for renewal. We are also lucky in our board and our department leadership that we are fiscally responsible both on the short and long term. We make sure we save back every year in anticipation of projects such as this so we have funds.”
The FCFD operates from two stations within the 115 square mile district in northwest Knox County. Fire and rescue services are provided by a team of 30 firefighters with varying levels of experience from the basic 36-hour to the 240-hour professional firefighter certification.
