Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Apparatus topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board seeks clarity on ownership and insurance of Brookline’s antique fire apparatus
Summary
Residents and association representatives told the Select Board that Brookline’s historic fire vehicles were restored and insured by the Brookline Fire Association, not the town; the board asked staff to draft a storage/use agreement and to confirm insurance costs with PrimeX.
The Select Board on Dec. 8 debated whether several antique fire apparatus stored in the Brookline Fire Station are town property or assets of the Brookline Fire Association and asked staff to prepare a written agreement clarifying ownership and insurance responsibilities.
Mark Kresin, speaking for the association and identifying himself as a longtime member and historian, told the board the vehicles and restorations were paid for with donations and fundraising and that “no tax dollars were used” to restore or maintain the pieces. He provided historical documentation tracing acquisitions back to the 1800s and said the association currently insures the antiques under its policy, a portion of which cost $472 as of September 2024.
Several Select Board members responded that New Hampshire RSAs require a clear separation between association and municipal assets when equipment purchased by an association is used as part of official town operations. The chair said the board’s goal is “to clearly identify what is the association’s asset, what is the town’s asset,” and to create a short written agreement mirroring the association’s existing storage agreement with the Brookline Historical Society.
Resident Buddy Dario, chair of the Conservation Commission, raised procedural concerns when conservation land authority was discussed earlier in the meeting; during the apparatus discussion, residents and former department members urged the board to preserve the antiques in town and to avoid imposing unplanned costs on the association.
Board members agreed on next steps: identify an association representative to work with staff on a facility-use or transfer document; ask PrimeX (the town’s insurer) to confirm whether the town’s policy is currently covering the vehicles and, if the town cancels coverage, what the association’s incremental insurance cost would be for parade and event use. The board also asked staff to consolidate the historical records offered at the meeting into the town’s files so future boards have a clear paper trail.
The board did not make a final legal determination at the meeting; members said any transfer of title or formal change in insurance would be recorded in a written agreement to avoid future commingling of municipal and association assets.
