Wanamingo Fire Department looks to replace 1990s truck with modern pumper

As part of a comprehensive replacement schedule, the Wanamingo Fire Department is laying the groundwork to order a roughly $1 million customized pumper truck which could double as a response vehicle equipped for medical emergencies.

Fire Chief Trevor Aase and Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Lunde discussed the plans with the council at its monthly meeting on Monday. With the council’s support, the department is hoping to get more detailed bids from vendors and get on the waiting list for a potential 2027 purchase.

Lunde said that, while the truck set to be replaced is still in good shape, the pump mechanism has become obsolete, its technology has become increasingly dated, and a growing number of department members are unfamiliar with how to use its manual transmission.

While reliable over the years, the pumper truck set to be replaced dates back to the early 1990s. That marks it as a firmly analog relic in a digital age, which frustrates many members of an increasingly youthful and tech-savvy Fire Department.

“Our department is getting young, and the younger members of our department are getting more comfortable running electronic type stuff,” Lunde said. “I know there’s a mentality that the old manual method never goes bad, but in reality, it can go bad just as quick as this electronic stuff.”

By sticking to a carefully crafted long-term vehicle replacement strategy, Lunde said that the city and neighboring townships could space out the formidable expense associated with regular replacement of specialized emergency response vehicles.

Currently, taxpayers in Wanamingo and the surrounding townships are paying off bonds used to finance previous equipment purchases set to expire in 2027. The Department has long eyed issuing new bonds only after the old ones expire to help to ease the pain felt by taxpayers.

Part of the expense could be funded by existing city resources and pull tab revenue. However, City Administrator Michael Boulton indicated that the large majority of the project would likely be paid by bonds which could need to be roughly twice as large as the current ones.

Notably, increasingly tight federal emissions standards have significantly increased the cost of purchasing such a large truck. By 2028, new emissions standards are set to be implemented which Lunde said could increase a new truck’s price by over $100,000.

The precise cost of the new truck is unclear, with the Department in the early stages of considering three potential candidates for its purchase: Iowa based Toyne fire apparatus, Wyoming, Minnesota based Rosenbauer, and Wisconsin-based Pierce Manufacturing.

Depending on the specs and features associated with the truck, along with less predictable factors such as potential inflation and supply chain challenges, Lunde said the final cost of the truck could come in anywhere between $700,000 and $1.2 million

Previously, Wanamingo has been a satisfied customer of Rosenbauer, but Zumbrota recently purchased a truck from Toyne and other local communities have bought from Pierce. Lunde said that the Department would consider all three options based on service, price and other factors.

To help ensure that the new vehicle can serve both purposes, it is expected to be built with a custom chassis. While this could add up front expense, it would ensure that the truck is more ergonomic and stronger, with a resale value that holds up better.

Despite the large expense associated with the new purchase, Councilors indicated that they believe the new truck to be a necessary expense. Lunde said that while the Department would try to be frugal in its purchase, it doesn’t want to go super-cheap on the purchase either.

“We don’t want a Cadillac, we don’t want to maintain a Cadillac, we don’t need a Cadillac, but we also don’t want a Pinto because then you have a Pinto for 30 to 40 years,” Lunde said. “We want to go middle of the road.”