About 10 years ago, Iola purchased a fully equipped, state-of-the-art Pierce pumper truck for the Iola Fire Department, for a shade more than $500,000.
For two years, the truck worked like a dream.
But a series of computer upgrades in 2012 apparently disagreed with the unit’s DD13 Detroit diesel engine.
Since then, the truck — Engine 311 — has been a chronic problem for the Fire Department, with multiple mechanical issues.
In the eight years hence, Engine 311’s computer has been replaced three times and a new fuel system has been installed, firefighter Corey Isbell told Iola Council members Monday night.
Even worse, issues continue to pop up, including “surging” with both the motor and the water pumps when spraying water onto a fire, Isbell said.
“The problems we’re having is not a Pierce problem,” Isbell said. “It’s a Detroit diesel problem.”
But with the engine’s warranty long-since expired, the persistent breakdowns have become increasingly costly.
Since 2016, when the truck’s warranty expired, the city has spent about $31,000 on repairs, Fire Chief Tim Thyer reported. (Before that, Thyer counted 44 repair/warranty invoices the city didn’t have to pay.)
“It’s going to get somebody killed,” Councilman Ron Ballard, a former firefighter, said.
Monday’s discussion was at Ballard’s behest.
The Fire Department has about $90,000 socked away in its equipment reserves, and the city has budgeted an additional $125,000 for a new unit in its 2021 budget.
Problem is, that number is likely less than half what’s needed to buy a replacement, Thyer said.
He provided the Council with a list of vendors’ quotes, ranging in price from $315,000 to $607,000.
Council members discussed the city’s options, wary that dipping into cash reserves from other departments — which has been done in the past — has ruffled feathers from those other departments.
Council members directed Interim City Administrator Corey Schinstock to work with Thyer to develop a list of specifications — ensuring it’s small enough to fit into its designated bay at the fire station is among them — as the Council looks at funding options.
