A fire truck similar to the one ordered by Peachtree City.
The Peachtree City Council on Nov. 3 approved the purchase of a new rescue pumper totaling $586,650. The new unit was included in the 2017 Public Improvement Program (PIP) budget.
The council at the recommendation of Fire Chief Joe O’Conor unanimously approved the purchase of a Sutphen Monarch Rescue Pumper for a total price not to exceed $586,650.
O’Conor said a group of department staff performed an in-depth comparison of custom fire apparatus in order to evaluate which manufacturer’s product would best meet the fire protection needs of the citizens of Peachtree City.
“The Sutphen engine was deemed superior by a majority of committee members in all categories evaluated when compared to products from Pierce, Fierra, Rosenbaur, E-One and Crimson,” O’Conor said. “The categories evaluated included handling, cab entry and hose-loading height, strength of chassis and quality of workmanship.”
The 2017 Public Improvement Program budgeted $660,000 for this replacement apparatus, this engine is $73,350 below the budgeted amount. While some additional equipment purchases will be necessary to put this vehicle into service, the overall cost should be substantially below what was budgeted.
O’Conor said Public Works Department maintenance personnel, who will ultimately work on the vehicle, found the Sutphen superior to others evaluated and were impressed by the quality of construction and access to a fleet of six qualified maintenance technicians, each with a stockpile of parts available in the Atlanta metro area to address any warranty issues.
According to O’Conor, a national bid process was conducted by the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s cooperative purchasing program HGACBuy.
“Through this cooperative agreement, Sutphen (and many other fire apparatus manufacturers) offered their best lowest pricing for a base model, Monarch engine as well as locked in itemized pricing for a host of optional features. Using this purchase cooperative’ s resources additions and subtractions from the base model resulted in a bid price of $586,650 with guaranteed delivery 330-360 days from the receipt of the order,” O’Conor said.
