If the Washington City Council approves a $466,342.23 purchase order for a new fire engine during its meeting Monday, Fire Chief Robbie Rose plans to use it the next day.

The city would purchase the new fire engine from Smeal Fire Apparatus in Snyder, Nebraska. After receiving several proposals for stock/demonstration fire engines from several vendors, city fire officials decided on the Smeal fire engine.

“The primary justification for this choice is it’s a top mount pump design and specifications best meet the needs of the department for a front line fire engine,” Rose wrote in a memorandum to the mayor and City Council.

After meeting with the Smeal sales representative and completing the specification process to more specifically equip the fire engine to meet the city’s specifications, the submitted base proposal price of $444,986 increased to the final delivery price of $466,342.23, according to the memorandum. Included in the price of the fire engine, Smeal will cover travel costs to its factory by two city fire officials for final inspection of the vehicle prior to delivery.

The fire engine, built in January, has 5,700 miles on it because it has been used as a factory stock/demo vehicle.

Atlantic Coast Fire Trucks is the area vendor for Smeal products. The city sought bids from these other vendors: C.W. Williams (Rosenbauer trucks), Fire Connections (two bids, E-1 trucks), Atlantic Emergency Solutions (Pierce trucks), C&C Fire Apparatus (Ferrara trucks), Mike Watts (Toyne trucks) and First Choice Fire (Spartan Custom). Bids ranged from $433,286 to $486,476. No bids were received from C&C Fire Apparatus and First Choice Fire. Toyne trucks had no stock inventory, according to the memorandum.

The new engine, which could be delivered to the city by mid-July, would replace Engine 3, a reserve engine that failed a recent test because its pump is not working properly. Repairing the pump would cost at least $12,000, Rose told the council in April, saying then he did not believe the city should invest that much money in repairing the fire engine, which is 28 years old.

If purchased, the Smeal fire engine would be the second fire engine the city bought in less than a year.

Last year, the council approved funding for a new front-line fire engine. But discrepancies with the year model for that new apparatus were discovered by fire department personnel during an inspection of the vehicle, according to Rose. In a memorandum to the mayor and council, Rose wrote that “in consideration that this was inconsistent with the information originally provided to the Council for consideration; we terminated that purchase transaction.”

On Sept. 28, 2015, the council authorized spending $450,000 on a new fire engine from C.W. Williams Co. in Rocky Mount. The company services the city’s fire engines.

Rose wrote that the department sent requests to seven fire-engine vendors for bids to provide the department with in-stock/demonstration models. An eighth vendor contacted the department about submitting its bid, Rose noted. After reviewing the proposals, the department recommends the city buy a stock 2015 Pierce fire engine from Atlantic Emergency Solutions at a cost of $448,995.