Chehalis City Council approves $600K for fire engine refurbishment amid budget and vehicle reliability issues

Nov. 13—With a budget deficit looming, the Chehalis City Council unanimously approved a $600,000 fire engine refurbishment for the Chehalis Fire Department's 2004 Pierce Enforcer fire engine during its Tuesday, Nov. 12 meeting.

The refurbishment will be done instead of purchasing a brand new fire engine for $1.2 million, as previously approved by the council in June.

In total, the council approved Chehalis Fire Chief Adam Fulbright's request for both a new fire engine and ambulance in June at a cost of approximately $1.65 million, financing the purchases through the Washington state Treasurer's Office Local Program.

"The ambulance has been ordered and we have our first build meeting on the 20th of November," Fulbright told the council during Tuesday's meeting.

He anticipated delivery of the ambulance to be sometime "toward the end of 2026." The new ambulance was needed as the department's current one, a 2005 Ford North Star, has had lingering electrical issues that sometimes cause it to fail to start even after being remounted.

The department's three fire engines have been plagued with engine and brake issues.

However, amid talks of a looming 2026 budget deficit — with $1,181,720 in general fund reserves needing to be utilized to balance the 2025 budget — Fulbright decided to get quotes to see how much a fire engine refurbishment would cost instead of purchasing a new engine to try to help reduce city expenditures.

"With the approval in June, this was going to have an operating financial impact of $220,000 a year. By doing the refurbishment, we can reduce that financial impact by $75,000 a year in our operating costs come 2026," Fulbright said.

Along with saving the city money, the refurbishment process is completed much quicker than building an entire new fire engine, he said.

The average time for a new engine to be built can be anywhere from two to four years depending on options, while a refurbishment takes on average six months.

"We checked with the Washington State Rating Bureau and found out that if we do accomplish a class one refurb on an engine, that it basically qualifies it for a second life," Fulbright said.

A new engine has an expected service life of 20 years, while a refurbished engine with a second life has an additional 15 years added to its expected service life.

The refurbishment process includes an inspection and overhaul of a fire engine's motor, transmission, driveline, brakes, water tank, pump parts, new paint, lights and more.

Fulbright had Hughes Fire Equipment in Tacoma inspect the department's 2004 engine earlier this year and estimated the refurbishment cost $567,000, with an additional $33,000 in contingency funds for unexpected issues for a total cost of $600,000.

The refurbishment of the 2004 Pierce will also be financed through the Washington state Treasurer's Office Local Program.

Even with the refurbishment approved, the Chehalis Fire Department is still in need of a new engine, and Fulbright added he is planning on pursuing a new round of recently released Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program funds.

Aside from the 2004 Pierce, the department also has a 2016 Pierce Dash CF fire engine and a 1993 Western States Hale Pump fire engine.

Given that it's well past its 20-year expected service life and replacement parts are no longer being made for it, the 1993 engine is scheduled to be replaced by 2026.

Throughout most of this past year, it was out of service due to critical engine and brake system failures. With no new parts being made for it anymore, it took months to even find a mechanic willing to try to repair it.

"The downside to (the refurbishment) is we're still stuck with the 30-year-old engine. But the positive thing is the 2024 AFG grant that came out today, pumpers are a priority. So that put us in position to refurbish the 2004 and put in for a grant for a replacement of an engine," Fulbright said.

If he can successfully get FEMA AFG funding to purchase a new engine, he hopes it will give the department a brand new engine, a 10-year-old engine and the refurbished 2004 as a back-up engine by 2026.

Additionally, the Chehalis Fire Department recently accepted a brand new 2024 Rosenbauer Viper 109-foot ladder truck in September after Fulbright got the council to approve its purchase using just over $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding the city still had back in April of 2023.

This new ladder truck also has a water tank on board and can serve as a pump engine, Fulbright said. It replaced the department's old 1997 Nova Quintech 100-foot ladder truck.

The 2016 Pierce has also been out of service multiple times this year with engine issues, according to the council's agenda report.

During one of those times when the 2016 engine was out of service, on May 28, the 2004 Pierce also had engine issues, leaving the department without a functioning fire engine of its own for five hours, the agenda report stated.

An interlocal agreement currently exists between the Chehalis Fire Department and Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia allowing shared temporary use of each other's vehicles in the event either department needs a vehicle due to mechanical failures.