Committee urges more information before replacing Engine 47 after March wreck

The Mauldin Public Safety Committee discussed replacement options for Engine 47, which was declared a total loss after a March crash. Committee members and fire department leaders agreed to pause a prior procurement motion so staff can gather firm cost estimates, insurance details and capital-expenditure offsets before asking full council to act.

Chief McComb told the committee that the department is operating with a reserve engine in the interim. “Got reserved, which I’m glad we do have reserved. So we just put them in a reserve, 1 of our older engines,” he said, describing how the department has compensated for the lost apparatus. Committee members pressed staff on timing and cost: multiple speakers noted past purchase prices and rising new-unit costs — “It was 637,000 what we paid per engine,” one member said while comparing earlier procurements to current market prices.

Staff warned that procuring a new engine could take more than two years once ordered because of manufacturing lead times. Committee members also discussed insurance proceeds and depreciation; the transcript records an insurance payment referenced in the meeting as “$5.65” (recorded here as $565,000 based on the way the amount was spoken), which staff said was the insurer’s payout figure. Members asked staff to clarify whether there are capital-expenditure savings that could be reallocated and whether bonding or existing rescue-truck capital would affect timing.

The committee took no formal vote to purchase; instead it directed staff to refine cost estimates and return with firm numbers and procurement options. The matter will return to a future agenda with clarified replacement costs, funding options and expected delivery timelines.