Four months into the new year and firefighters are waiting to hear from city hall on whether their aging command vehicle is going to be replaced.
The Burnaby Fire Department’s command vehicle is up for replacement, according to the department’s vehicle replacement plan.
The plan dictates when big-ticket items, including fire trucks, ladder trucks and other vehicles need to be replaced. Most are on a 15-year lifecycle, which is determined using government guidelines and industry standards.
At a December 2014 city council meeting, staff recommended council approve the purchase of a new fire command vehicle for a cost of nearly $600,000.
Instead, the mayor and councillors voted to table the motion, a decision Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said was made to give staff more time to look at other options, including the possibility of using the Burnaby RCMP's mobile command centre.
Sharing resources would lower costs for the city, which is always an important consideration, Dhaliwal said.
"Council likes to make sure we've done our diligence," he added.
Only once staff has had enough time to consider all the different options and pricing for a new command vehicle will the motion be brought back to council for approval, according to Dhaliwal.
While he couldn't provide a specific date when the motion would return, Dhaliwal confirmed that while the Burnaby Fire Department's command vehicle is scheduled to be replaced this year, the current command vehicle is still functioning, he said.
The new fire command vehicle is expected to cost nearly $600,000, funding for which would come from the 2015 provisional capital program. Staff recommended in the December report that the contract for manufacturing and delivery be awarded to Abbotsford-based company HUB Fire Engines and Equipment Ltd.
The Burnaby Fire Department did not immediately return calls from the NOW.
