Caribou to pay $12,666 for new equipment
CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Fire Department will be receiving assistance from FEMA to replace 38 SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) units, two air bottles for each unit, and a face piece. The total cost of equipment replacement is $266,000, so the city will pay $12,666 in addition to FEMA’s $253,334 contribution. Caribou’s contribution will come out of the Fire Equipment Reserve Line, which currently contains $27,168.
“Why are we buying fiber-wrapped bottles that have a service life of 15 years whereas the steel or aluminum bottles can be used indefinitely until failure?” Councilor Philip McDonough II asked. “That does not make fiscal sense to me.”
“The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) just went from five to fifteen minutes for escape time,” said Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi. “With this purchase we’ve changed everything up to go with a 45 minute bottle that provides 30 minutes of work time and 15 minutes of escape time. The lighter bottles will also be more ergonomically friendly to firefighters, and I don’t know of anybody that is going with steel right now. We’ve looked at two big companies and haven’t thrown all of our chips in yet to get the biggest bang for our buck with this purchase.”
McDonough suggested that Susi look into the possibility of purchasing longer lasting steel bottles, as the fiber-wrapped alternative may place a burden on taxpayers further down the road.
“We don’t necessarily know if we’ll get another grant in 15 years,” said McDonough. “So we’re putting a burden on the population of the community to support this. If the metal bottles are sufficient and meet the standards, then why aren’t we buying those?”
Susi told council he would look into the possibility of steel bottles.
“The other thing about this grant is that we’re getting 38,” Susi said. “Right now we have 26 and 26 air bottles. We’re configured for 38 at the station. In saying that, hopefully in 15 years we can rotate the stock enough that they won’t be used during every fire. Right now, we’re using every piece of equipment in every fire. With 38, we could change that up and get more usage out of the packs.”
Councilor Tim Guerrette, who has prior experience working with Caribou Fire Department, added that steel bottles have not been used for over a decade, and that there is a significant weight difference between the two.
“(The steel bottles) were like a scuba tank,” Guerrette said.
Susi added that the old bottles may be traded in, and the money received may be used to purchase a thermal imaging camera.
Mayor Aiken suggested that, before any purchases are made, Susi update Council with more information regarding the equipment.
Susi agreed and offered to bring in some bottles to more accurately demonstrate their features.
