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Fire chief urges council to restore ambulance to capital list amid long manufacturer lead times
Summary
Fire Chief Fred Astaire asked that a $575,000 upfitted ambulance be included in the capital budget, citing build lead times (~28 months), rising vehicle costs and a 49% increase in EMS call volume since COVID; council and finance staff discussed payment phasing and rechassising to reduce long‑term cost.
Fire Chief Fred Astaire told the council the fire department submitted a single capital request for 2025: $575,000 for one upfitted ambulance, the scheduled replacement for a 2016 unit. He said growing call volume — roughly 4,800 ambulance responses in 2023 and on pace for about 5,300 responses this year — and current manufacturer lead times (about 28 months from order to delivery) make early ordering important.
"With a turnaround time of at least 28 months, it is imperative that we get a unit ordered as soon as possible," Astaire said, noting that several units had recently been taken temporarily out of service for mechanical repairs.
The chief and council discussed rising vehicle costs: an ambulance that cost roughly $180,000 in 2019 was quoted at $450,000 in 2023 and about $510,000 in 2024; the chief attributed much of the increase to inflationary pressures and supply constraints for chassis and engines. He described a cost‑saving strategy — ordering ambulances with bodies that can be rechassised later — which the department is using to extend fleet life and reduce replacement costs.
Council members asked about payment terms and alternatives to bonding the full amount upfront. The finance commissioner suggested the council could consider bonding the initial payment or staging payments across contract milestones, and asked the fire department to prepare a payment timeline and options for phased financing.
No formal action was taken at the workshop; staff agreed to provide contract and payment details for council review and to explore alternative funding options including grants and staged bonding.
