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Waterford fire committee flags rising repair costs, urges purpose-built procurement and fleet-plan overhaul
Summary
Committee members and the fire director warned of rising apparatus repair costs and urged a move from stock purchases to purpose-built apparatus, proposed a smaller, tailored fleet and recommended revising the town's long-standing fleet-management plan to avoid costly simultaneous replacements.
At a June 25, 2025 special meeting, the Waterford Fire Services Review Special Committee focused on growing apparatus repair costs and a proposed overhaul of the town’s fleet-management approach. Director Chris Haley told the committee repairs have produced a $9,900 deficit so far for FY25 and predicted total repair and related costs could reach $150,000–$200,000 this year. Two apparatus were still out of service in shops.
Haley said many vehicles were purchased from manufacturers’ stock offerings rather than ordered purpose-built for the department’s needs and lifecycle. "While it can take up to five years to design and build the apparatus this way, it results in a vehicle better suited for its actual use, with a longer lifespan that ultimately saves money," he said. Haley proposed a target fleet of five engines, two ladders and two brush trucks.
Committee members said the existing replacement cycles and the 2009 fleet-management plan are overdue for revision. Tim Condon (RTM) argued that some replacement schedules are unrealistic — noting brush trucks could log fewer than 15,000 miles in 10 years — and pointed to underfunded line items, saying W-25 is only funded at $925,000, which he called insufficient under current market prices. Condon estimated that a properly funded, differentiated fleet plan could save about $300,000 a year.
The committee discussed practical options Haley offered to reduce budget pressure: identifying some vehicles as DNR (do not replace), rotating or refurbishing units to delay purchases, and considering financing alternatives to straight bonding. Haley said inspections and assessments of the full fleet were expected to be completed by July 7 and urged carving out fire-specific procurement rules in the townwide plan to avoid ‘‘catastrophic blips’’ when multiple large purchases fall in the same budget year.
Haley also summarized the department’s 2016 ISO Public Protection Classification results to frame what performance areas could improve with targeted investments. The ISO report was presented as background rather than a near-term driver of purchases.
Procedural actions at the meeting included a motion by Tim Condon, seconded by Matthew Keatley, to approve the June 18, 2025 minutes as amended (voice vote: unanimous). The committee tentatively scheduled its next meeting for July 9, 2025.
