Memorandum
City of
Fire Medical
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TO: |
David Corliss, City Manager |
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FROM: |
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CC: |
Diane Stoddard, Assistant
City Manager Cynthia Boecker, Assistant
City Manager |
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Date: |
June 12, 2008 |
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RE: |
Fire Apparatus Replacement Request |
Introduction
In 2006, the Fire/Medical
Department began a review of its fire apparatus fleet. The efforts of staff culminated in a
comprehensive vehicle study that included a survey of all primary and secondary
fire apparatus, an overview of the organizational goals and service demands of
FM, a comparative analysis of the fire apparatus replacement programs in other
jurisdictions, and a proposed apparatus replacement schedule.
Grant Requests
In February 2007, a Fire Apparatus
Replacement Plan was proposed. In
addition, the department submitted a request for a Technical Rescue Vehicle
through a USFA/FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant. In September of 2007, the
department received a denial letter for this request.
In May 2008, the City Commission authorized the department
to submit for a Ladder Platform through the USFA/FEMA Assistance to
Firefighters Grant. This grant is still
pending, normally notification is made in late fall of each year.
Community
Comparison
The City Manager requested a
community comparison be completed to determine the cost comparison between the
department’s request and other community apparatus purchases. This comparison is included at the end of
this memo. Comparative communities for a
quint included
Safety and
Technological Features
All Manufactures: – Air
disc brakes,
– Automatic
tire chains for improved tire traction in adverse weather
Compressed Air Foam
System:
A Compressed
Air Foam System (CAFS) adds
foam to water and compressed air in the firefighting hose to create a specific
foam mixture similar to shaving cream. Compressed air foam knocks down
fires much faster than water alone (20 times more effective than plain
water). Fire streams can reach 50% further than water streams due to the
air pressure, enabling firefighters to attack the fire at a greater distance,
substantially cutting down exposure to the very high temperatures of a burning
structure. Other advantages include: utilizes less water and foam if
applied separately, thereby reducing water damage; penetrates fuels more
effectively to reach deep-seated fires; absorbs heat more rapidly to lessen the
chance of flashover in structure fires and reduces the potential for fires to
rekindle by forming a vapor barrier around fuels to exclude
oxygen.
No single manufacturer can offer the safety features listed
below except Pierce, Manufacturing.
Pierce, Manufacturing:
Standard Features – Side
Roll Protection System
– Front
and side airbag curtains
– TAK-4
independent front suspension – shortens breaking distances up to 23 %
– Greatest
cramp angels to 45 degrees – critical for Traditional Neighborhood Design
– Increase
load capacity – Dual Axels 18,000 – 22,800
– Antilock
Breaking System – Front and Rear Wheels
– Dual
Seatbelt retraction systems per seat along with ‘auto-style” airpack locking
device – eliminates the breathing airtank becoming dislodged, ejecting
firefighter and bottle from cab.
Apparatus Useful
Life Expectancy
To ensure the greatest efficiency
of public funds we recommend adopting a useful life of twelve years. The basis for this recommendation is derived
from the following:
·
Provides
for the latest safety features;
·
Provides
for the latest technological features;
·
Annual
operation costs remain stable during this time frame;
·
Would
lessen the likelihood of a non-warranty covered major components;
·
Residual
values – seven years approximately 30 – 35 percent, ten years approximately 25
percent;
·
As
outlined below, review of maintenance records indicates a significant increase
in annual maintenance costs between the ten and 15 year life of the vehicle.
Current Annual
Maintenance Costs
Steve Stewart, Superintendent of the Public Works Central
Vehicle Maintenance Division, has provided historical maintenance cost
associated with our current fleet. Based
on service and maintenance costs, the point at which it becomes more costly to
maintain equipment than the actual value of the equipment depends based on type
of vehicle. Data indicate that this
intersection point for a fire engine is 10.75 years; 11 years for quints 11
years, and 10 years for aerial trucks.
This information confirms our recommendation of an efficient 12 year
vehicle life based on current maintenance cost history. In addition, regionally departments are
seeing similar life/maintenance history.
Local Dealership
We recommend the purchase of
apparatus from Pierce Manufacturing, Inc.
This recommendation is based on the following:
–
–
History
with a financially stable apparatus manufacture;
–
Positive
city history with Pierce Manufacturing, Inc.
Houston-Galveston
Area Council
(HGAC) Purchase
In an attempt to be as cost
conservative as possible, it is recommended that we purchase the three vehicles
from the HGAC Contract. This will reduce
the overall administrative time spent in additional bidding and capture added
savings with pre-payments. The city has
had favorable experiences using the HGAC contract for other large equipment
purchases including the 2007 purchase of the department’s Investigation vehicle
and various Public Works equipment.
Current Vehicle
Replacement Request
Technical Rescue – In 1998 the Department placed back into service a retired 1983 fire engine that was no longer capable of pumping due to fire pump failure. This engine was converted into a technical rescue (trench, structural collapse & confined space) vehicle by removing the pump and other mounted equipment to increase storage capacity. This apparatus was quickly loaded to capacity and additional equipment was stored in the station and on fire apparatus where it could fit.
In January of 2006 this converted apparatus developed major engine problems requiring it be permanently retired from service. All of the heavy rescue equipment from this apparatus has been prioritized for need and placed on two trailers not designed for rescue equipment transportation or emergency response. One trailers normal use was to move smaller equipment and related item between fire medical stations. The other trailer was pushed back into service after having been removed from service due to wear. These trailers are at capacity and the remainder of the equipment is located on the apparatus floors of fire stations to be loaded for deployment by pickups dispatched from other locations.
Quint – Request will replace a 1996 Pierce Engine 6 (Unit
628) with an overall replacement score of 54.29. Mileage of 99,318, Engine Hours of 10,147 and
maintenance costs of $68,370 annually.
Quint – Request will replace a 1996 Pierce Engine 7 (Unit
629) with an overall replacement score of 50.72. Mileage of 92,183, Engine Hours of 8,361 and
maintenance cost of $65,711 annually.
Note: Overall
Replacement Score – This is the score obtained by Public Works Central Vehicle
Maintenance that is used on all city vehicles.
Any score equal to or greater than 30 points indicates immediate
replacement.
Budget and
Financing
Within the FY 2007 Budget (CIP),
$600,000 was approved for the purchase of a Technical Rescue Vehicle. In the FY 2008 Budget (CIP) $1,680,000 was
approved for the purchase of two quints.
Ed Mullins, Finance Director, has conducted a financing
analysis to determine the best method of securing funds for the apparatus
purchases. They included purchase/cash,
purchase/GO Bond debt, lease, or lease/purchase of the equipment.
The Cost analysis by Finance indicates a 12-year GO Bond
debt issuance as the best option to meet the designated useful life expectancy.
Action Request
Fire Medical Department staff requests the approval for the
following:
·
Utilize
the Houston-Galveston Area Council contract administered by MARC for pricing
quotes;
·
General
Obligation Bond debt issuance for the purchase via twelve year term;
·
Purchase:
o
One
(1) Technical Rescue from Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. in the amount of $621,521.00.
o
Two
(2) 75’ Quints from Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. in the amount of $1,663,652.
Apparatus Purchase
Information
Assumptions
Engine cost increase per year (per Steve Stewart) $10,000
Manufacturing increase per year (per Steve Stewart)
7%
Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) (HGAC Pricing) $41,000
Breathing Air System (HGAC Pricing) $45,400
Comparable Purchases
Quint Engine % Increase Foam Adjusted
$709,000 $10,000 $49,630 $41,000 $810,630
2007
American LaFrance
Ordered 110’ quint from American LaFrance. Unit has been delayed until at least August
due to company bankruptcy proceedings.
Unit does not have a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) or any of the
current safety features (roll protections, stability, etc. Price included a trade in unit with a $70,000
value.
Quint Engine % Increase Foam Adjusted
$625,000 $10,000 $43,750 $41,000 $720,750
2007
Pierce
…”Our price for the truck was approximately $625,000, including the
HGAC fee which, when we ran the numbers, represented a savings of about $50,000
over the list prices for identical features…. We do have CAFS on the
truck … The truck does have the newest safety features such as roll protection,
TAC-4 front suspension, etc. Very smooth and stable. Let me know if
you have any other questions or need any additional information”.
Single axle, 75’ ladder.
Quint Engine %Increase Foam Adjusted
$653,575 $10,000 $45,750 $0 $709,325
2007
Pierce
…”Purchased (Full pre-payment)
in February 2007, cost $622,805.00.
Delivered in September 2007. The
payment on delivery cost would have been $653,575.00”.
…”The unit has roll indicators.
We selected the Velocity HAL75 based on the engineering and safety
features of the Velocity. We selected
Pierce as the manufacturer to be utilized to "standardize" our fleet
of apparatus back in the late 1990's”…
This unit does have a CAFS system.
Single axle, 75’ ladder.
Quint Engine % Increase Foam Adjusted
$853,000 $10,000 $59,710 $41,000 $964,710
2007
Pierce
Replace their apparatus at 10 years of age. Just received a 100’ platform for $853,000
with all prepay discounts taken and 10 year old truck received trade in value
of $200,000. Unit does not have a CAFS
system.
Tandem axle, 100’ ladder platform
Rescue Engine % Increase Compressor Adjusted
$450,000 $10,000 $31,500 $45,400 $536,900
2007
Pierce
“…We purchased a Pierce heavy rescue with USAI grant money in 2007 for
$450,000. It arrives this week and will be put in service at the end of
the month.
…It has a Velocity cab with TAC 4 suspension without any of the new
safety features….
…It does not have a breathing compressor however it has a compressor
for air tool….”
Rescue Engine % Increase Compressor Adjusted
$446,000 $10,000 $31,220 $35,000 $522,200
2007 (no
bottles)
Pierce
…”We are very happy with Pierce and with this last purchase our entire
apparatus inventory (non-medics) are all Pierce. They are very eager
to give the customer what they want, everyone within their organization is
helpful and they build a very good product”.
“Ordered in July 07, we just received a 2008 rescue (Velocity) and the
cost was $446,000”.
“No SCBA compressor but it has a cascade system consisting of 4
DOT bottles, refill station”.