Narragansett Poised to Buy New Fire Truck, Equipment

The Narragansett Fire Department is due to begin upgrading some of its equipment, including the purchase of a new aerial ladder truck.

The Town Council next week will consider four individual requests that would authorize the purchase of the fire truck from Rosenbauer New England LLC., along with fire hose and associated equipment, a thermal imaging camera and rugged tablet computers that can handle the abuse of fire and rescue service.

While the price tag for the 2016 Rosenbauer Viper Aerial Ladder Truck is an eye-popping $816,555, Narragansett’s final bill will be much lower after a $690,000 Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency grant is applied. The final price will also include a $16,157 prepay discount after the initial $300,000 deposit.

Because the town has joined the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, it is enjoying a better price thanks to the regional buying power members are afforded, said Scott Partington, fire chief, in a memo to Town Manager Pamela Nolan.

The vehicle will be delivered in about one year after the prepayment.

The hoses come with a price of $79,870 and would replace hose on all four of the department’s pumpers. Of that amount, $34,410 consists of “various hose equipment.” And here’s the good news: the purchase can be covered through a 100 percent reimbursable grant through FEMA and DHS.

The new thermal imaging camera, which is used to help firefighters identify the hot and cold areas in a fire to make smarter tactical decisions, will replace a broken camera on Ladder 1. The $10,400 price includes a $1,000 trade-in discount for the old camera and will be paid for through the town’s Grant Match fund and “is part of the equipment that is purchased for the new ladder truck,” the fire chief said in a memo.

The new rugged tablet computers provided by GETAC will cost $23,499 but that’s a small price to pay if you ask a patient on a rescue vehicle being treated in an emergency situation.

The devices will help fulfill a goal set by a capital improvement project for a mobile integration of the town’s public safety dispatching system. The devices will give mobile access to response information, “bringing real-time information to our vehicles/apparatus while enroute and at the scene of an incident,” the fire chief said.

The Town Council will vote on the items at its Jan. 4 regular business meeting.