Whitefish Fire Department to buy new fire truck

The Whitefish City Council gave a thumbs-up to Whitefish Fire Chief Joe Page last week as they awarded a contract for a new fire engine.

Four bids were received for the contract and it was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Northern Rockies Fire of Kalispell. Their bid was $693,214 for an HME Ahrens-Fox and their build time, 400 days, was the quickest.

According to Page’s report, the Whitefish Fire Department provides fire, rescue, hazmat and EMS services to the City of Whitefish, the Whitefish Fire Service Area and portions of the Flathead Fire Service Area.

Currently, the department has a fleet of three fire engines, the newest is nine years old, the next is 26 years old and the oldest, reserve engine is 28 years old. The department tries to replace an engine every eight years, then the oldest is sold at auction.

The National Fire Protection Association recommends that equipment older than 15 years be placed on reserve status and removed from service when it is 25 years old.

“A fire engine needs to be capable of supporting the department’s all hazard mission,” Page said. “Equipped with a large fire pump, water, ladders, hose and various tools and equipment, fire engines are the department's primary response vehicle.”

Page said the department’s FY23 budget appropriated $450,000 for a new engine and the Whitefish Fire Service Area will contribute $100,000. The recommendation was that the remaining money come from the reserves in the Fire and Ambulance Fund as a one-time capital purchase.

Councilor Ben Davis asked for insight into why the cost of the truck far exceeds the budget.

“Prices have all been going up,” Page began. “The highest bid we got on this was $1.2 (million) with a three-year build, so… the industry is going nuts.”

Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith added that the cost of garbage trucks has also gone up. She said they are now around $800,000, nearly double what they used to cost. Smith cited supply chain issues from the pandemic, deferred spending in the nation that caused a backlog and the current all-time high inflation rate as reasons for the higher prices of equipment.

She added that the cost of repair and maintenance for the fire department’s fleet has gone up too, so replacing the oldest engine should result in lower costs for repair and maintenance.

The council voted unanimously to award the contract to Northern Rockies Fire.