Watch VideoLonger life for Springs Fire Department Fleet
Story By: Bill Folsom
Source: KOAA
Making old just like new is saving hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Fleet managers are doing it by investing in extending the life of very expensive fire engines.
They take old fire engines and make them like new through refurbishing. The price of a new fire engine is around three hundred five thousand dollars. To totally refurbish one the cost is around one hundred fifty-thousand dollars. Three engines purchased by the department purchased back in 1994 are currently being refurbished. Deputy Chief Steven Cox, who manages the fleet says, “We were at a point where we had apparatus that was aging, but it was of such quality that we could refurbish those put those back on the street and extend the life of those." The saving adds up to four hundred fifty-thousand dollars.
Refurbishing includes rebuilding engines, transmissions and pumps. There's a new paint job and the specialty parts like flashing emergency lights are signals are upgraded to current standards. According to Cox, “They’re essentially a new vehicle.”The effort should extend the life of fire engines for at least ten years
