The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) will spend up to $2.64 million on acquiring another two new rescue pumper trucks for the Whistler Fire Rescue Service (WFRS) over the next few years.
Council signed off on the expenditures at the Feb. 6 council meeting, with a staff report noting two rescue pumper trucks in the fleet are 24 and 27 years old, no longer meet industry standards, and are recommended for retirement—hence the need for shiny new replacements.
Falling shy of industry standards as set out by the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) association means the two vehicles in the fleet have a reduced rating, “and this can affect the insurance premiums paid by the community to insure their buildings,” according to the report.
Those premiums won’t move for a while, however; the two trucks, which will be built by Winnipeg-based Fort Garry Fire Trucks, are not expected to be delivered to the WFRS until the end of 2027.
The order for two trucks comes quick on the heels of a previous order in 2023 for one rescue pumper truck, which was tagged at $1.17 million, also made by Fort Garry Fire Trucks.
“By ordering three similar fire apparatus in a short period of time, the RMOW expects that significant advantages to the WFRS team will result,” reads the report.
“All RMOW rescue pumper trucks will have the same layout and design, thereby promoting both maintenance and operating efficiencies. Moving forward with an extension of the existing contract at this time ensures that we will have three similar trucks in our fleet, and with the long lead time required for production of these trucks, early ordering is important to ensure that trucks will be available by the end of 2027.”
According to a communications official with the RMOW, the previous order from June 2023 is yet to arrive, with an estimated delivery date of late 2024.
The $2.64-million price tag on the two additional new trucks does not blow out the RMOW’s vehicle replacement budget for 2024, which was listed at $2.143 million in the budget just recently passed, according to the official.
“The vehicle replacement budget for 2024 is still $2.143 million. 2024 includes the balance of purchase for the existing unit in production (from 2023) and partial payment for the unit scheduled for completion in 2025,” they said in an email to Pique.
There will be some tinkering with the five-year financial plan, however—but in pushing some expenses further down the line, rather than bringing them forward.
At the Feb. 6 council meeting, councillors queried the improvements to fire trucks in the 20-plus years since the current trucks were purchased, and were told while pumping capacity is similar, the new trucks come with much improved safety for fire crews (compared to the current trucks with zero airbags), and better technology that makes fire and rescue services easier to carry out.
Mayor and council voted unanimously to support the order of two additional pumper trucks from Fort Garry Fire Trucks.
