Why doesn't the Sault tender fire trucks?

For the second time in 2014, Sault Ste. Marie is ordering a new fire truck.

Earlier this year, we got ourselves a shiny new 75-foot aerial truck.

Last week, city council voted to also order a new pump/rescue truck to replace a vehicle bought new in 2000.

Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services never keep a frontline fire truck for more than 15 years.

That’s the maximum allowed by the Fire Underwriters Survey - a national organization that compiles fire protection data for fire insurance statistics and underwriting purposes.

Both our new pumper and aerial truck are made by Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. of Snyder, Nebraska.

In fact, the last four fire trucks bought by Sault Fire Services over the past four years have been Smeals, purchased through its Canadian dealer, Safetek Emergency Vehicles Ltd. of Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Last week, city council voted to bypass its usual tendering rules and single-source the new $775,000 pump/ rescue truck through Safetek.

Why?

“As you know the tendering process will add extra time and workload on our staff and the purchasing staff as well as prolong the process…” wrote Jim St. Jules, assistant fire chief for support services, in a recent memorandum to city councillors, “…only to find that the product will be fairly priced for the market of a custom truck that will meet our specific needs and may well be the only supplier as there are no other manufacturers that build the patented hose bed which we are currently using.

St. Jules was referring to Smeal’s unique ergonomic hose loader bed (shown above), which has been ordered with all of the four Smeal trucks bought by the Sault in recent years.  

“This health and safety feature keeps the firefighters on the floor when reloading fire hose after a fire, thus preventing risks of injury or lost time from falling from apparatus,” he wrote.

“This particular truck manufacturer has proved to be an excellent company to deal with for any issues that we have had during the warranty period and anything afterwards. We have had parts shipped from the factory in Nebraska to our facility overnight. 

“The staff is very knowledgeable and willing to help with any matter we have. The product has proved to be of quality workmanship and the functionality of the aerial and pumpers are very user-friendly and the servicing aspects are as mechanic-friendly as possible. This keeps diagnostics and repair downtime to a minimum thus keeping the units on the front line ready for action.”

Single-sourcing our fire truck purchases also allows for standardized training for both firefighters and mechanics, with a common parts inventory just like Fire Services has with its Crestline ambulances, St. Jules said.

Other municipalities that single-source through Smeal/ Safetek include London, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Vaughn, Markham, Barrie, Ajax and Burlington.

Sault Fire Services is a warranty repair dealer for Smeal so there are opportunities for additional revenue, plus a chance to get better prices on parts for both repair customer vehicles as well as our own.  

It will take more than 300 days to build the new truck once the order is confirmed.

The $775,000 estimated cost includes extra hose, nozzles, rescue equipment and some small tools.

When the new vehicle arrives in 2015, the Sault’s 1995 reserve pumper will be sold or traded in and the 2000 pumper will move to reserve status.