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Goochland considers bulk purchase of engines and tanker to avoid rising costs and long lead times
Summary
After an engine was declared a total loss and staff cited long delivery times and rising prices, fire leadership recommended ordering multiple stock engines and a tanker now to save roughly $800,000 versus staggered purchases; staff proposed funding combos including insurance proceeds, CIP appropriations and $1.8M from future capital projects balance.
Goochland County’s fire‑rescue leadership briefed the board on the condition of the county fleet and urged a near‑term procurement strategy to replace aging engines and build a reserve fleet.
Chief staff outlined the county’s apparatus profile, noting engines with manufacture dates in the early 2000s and industry guidance to rotate frontline apparatus after about 15 years. Chief staff said engine 611 was declared a total loss following a crash; insurance proceeds will cover part of the replacement but replacement costs have risen sharply — a custom engine that cost about $735,000 in FY22 is now quoted closer to $1.1–1.2 million.
To mitigate escalating costs and long lead times, staff proposed buying three engines and one stock tanker now. The recommended buy‑ahead option packages three engines and a tanker at a combined near‑term cost that staff said would save roughly $800,000 compared with purchasing individually over multiple years (staff presented a modeled total of about $4.42 million for the package). The county’s options to fund the pre‑order included using current FY26 CIP appropriations, insurance recovery (about $194,750), and up to $1.8 million from the future capital projects fund balance.
Chief staff also said the industry lead time remains long (24–48 months delivery for custom engines) and that stock or demonstrator engines can shorten delivery and lower price. “We could pay about roughly $900,000 down per engine,” staff said while outlining prepaid deposit options that could secure better pricing.
Board discussion focused on the tradeoff between preserving fund balance and capturing the savings now versus financing or spreading purchases to avoid stress on operating revenues; several board members signaled support for advancing the tanker and a set of engines as priorities while asking staff for detailed financing scenarios and operational cost impacts.
What’s next: staff will bring formal procurement and financing recommendations to the board for January action so orders can be placed to secure better pricing and earlier delivery windows.
