FAYETTE — The Fayette Fire Department has applied for a $285,000 federal grant to help pay for a new tanker truck to replace two older firetrucks.

The application was submitted for an Assistant to Firefighters Grant program.

The department’s Truck Committee has talked with a couple of dealers to gather information for a truck. If the grant is approved, a request for proposal will be sent to dealers.

The tanker, which would carry up to 2,500 gallons of water and be equipped with a small pump, would be used as a stand-alone vehicle, fire Chief Marty Maxwell said Thursday.

The tanker is proposed to replace a 1984 water tender and the 1956 four wheel drive.

The tender is a truck that can hold water but has no pump on it, Maxwell said. It requires another truck with a pump to fill it. The tender can carry water to a fire scene and unload into a portable dump tank.

“We believe this truck has served us well and needs to be updated with all the new safety features and have the ability to pump at fires,” he said.

The 1956 truck is currently out of service because it has a broken axle and lacks required operator safety features. The cab of the truck is from the 1950s and there are no seat belts or power steering.

“With the replacement of these trucks now, we can get a new truck to help compliment our front line engine,” Maxwell said.

The Department’s current front-line engine is 19 years old and working well, he said.

“We are starting to put more money into this truck every year and the body is showing signs of its age,” Maxwell said. “This is a good truck now but we will have to start looking at its replacement in another 10 years or so.”

If the department is successful in the federal grant, it can replace two trucks with one next year.

“If the grant is not approved, we will still have to look at a new tanker and we, as a town, may have to look at an outright purchase,” he said. “We believe now is the time to replace these older trucks and have a long-range plan to replace the engine in 10 years.”

Maxwell said if the federal grant is approved, the program may not fund the grant, or could fund part or all of it. If approved, the town would be responsible for a 10 percent match, he said.

Voters will have a say in the matter.

The applications are currently undergoing review.

It is expected that awards will be announced late this year or early 2012.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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