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Fire chief asks for tanker refurb, flags station and fleet constraints in FY27 capital plan
Summary
Fire leadership described rising repair costs and a multi‑year apparatus replacement plan that includes a tanker refurbishment (placeholder $1M, estimated $650K–$750K), a pumper replacement cycle and concerns that new ladder trucks may not fit the downtown station; the department urged early planning for a second northern station to address response‑time gaps.
The New Canaan Fire Department presented an extensive FY27 operating and five‑year capital plan on Feb. 6, detailing response volumes, fleet condition and a proposal to refurbish aging apparatus rather than immediately purchase costly replacements that may not fit the downtown station.
Chiefs said the department handled about 1,239 calls last year, with roughly 44 coded fires and 12 structure fires; they reported property losses tied to those incidents at about $400,000 for the high‑loss events. Fire leadership said their operating budget request reflects persistent staffing and overtime pressures, but the largest changes appear in maintenance and capital lines: the repair budget request rose from about $1.15 million to roughly $1.45 million to cover major repairs such as radiators, alternators and ladder‑truck actuators.
On capital, the department proposed a tanker refurbishment in FY27 using a placeholder of $1 million while noting vendor estimates suggest a likely range of $650,000–$750,000; the chief said a refurb would extend the tanker’s service life by about 15 years. The department also outlined a multi‑year plan for pumpers and ladder work; new ladder trucks were quoted in discussion at roughly $1.8–$1.9 million and the chief warned some new ladders may not physically fit the downtown bay because of height, width and turning‑radius constraints.
The chief urged council members to consider starting a conversation about a second, northern fire station to reduce pockets of the town where arrival times exceed a 10‑minute target. "There’s about 10% of calls that we can’t make to somebody’s house in less than 10 minutes," he said, and noted that a northern station would relieve space and weight constraints at headquarters while improving coverage.
Next steps: the department will refine tanker refurb and pumper replacement specifications and return updated cost estimates to finance staff before the town council budget hearing. The subcommittee asked department and finance staff to coordinate potential bonding, grant opportunities and the timing of major capital outlays.
