Star-Journbal Editor
Ever since it broke down two months ago, finding a suitable replacement for fire engine No. 2 has been priority No. 1 for Fire Chief Ben Steketee.
There were lots of reasons why locating a suitable used pumper truck should have been Mission Impossible, but with the cost for repairing the old engine estimated at $25,000, the chief was determined to try.
Thanks to a helpful fire truck salesman, the chief found a "wonderful" truck in McPherson at the bargain price of $12,500.
"It's worth way more than that," said Steketee at the Dec. 19 Hillsboro City Council meeting.
The pumper is a four-wheel drive, three-passenger, 1985 International equipped with a 1,000 gallon per minute water pump, with a water cannon mounted on top.
Best of all, the truck is only 27 feet long, which is short enough to park in the Hillsboro fire station and still get the door closed.
"It just barely fits," Steketee said. "To make it possible for our firefighters to get around in there, we'll still need to move one of the trucks over to the garage space at the [city-owned] old AMPI building."
The pumper truck will be paid for by the rural fire district of Risley, Lehigh, Liberty, and part of Menno townships.
The city of Hillsboro will use the truck in exchange for providing fire protection to the townships, and providing space to house the truck at the fire station.
A cascade of problems were created by the breakdown of engine no. 2, one of four fire engines in the department.
With the pumper truck out of commission, the chief was forced to operate under an emergency plan in which the city-owned ladder truck, usually kept in town, would roll out of town to fight rural structure fires.
With the purchase of the used truck, the problem has been solved, he said, because the water cannon can be used to fight structure fires.
While the truck won't be delivered until next month, the McPherson fire chief invited Hillsboro firefighters to come over to begin training on it this past Wednesday.
"It's wonderful," Steketee said. "It runs great. It's been meticulously maintained. It pumps fantastic.
"By and large, it's just a fantastic truck."
In fact, the only thing Steketee can see wrong with the new used pumper is its color — it's painted fluorescent, lemon-lime, which was popular a few years ago. But it's something the chief says he's willing to overlook.
"I tell you, considering all the things this truck can do, the color kind of grows on you," he said.
