Paris board OKs $28,000 for fire department vehicle

PARIS — Selectmen on Monday approved spending up to $28,000 to buy a new command vehicle for the Fire Department.

According to fire Chief Brad Frost, the department has purchased a 2014 Ford Interceptor specifically designed for use by first responders. It comes ready for communications equipment and emergency lights to be installed. Frost expects the vehicle to arrive by the end of the week.

The Interceptor will replace the 2004 Ford Explorer that is regularly used as a mobile command and control platform at local emergency scenes. The Explorer has more than 110,000 miles on it, and has been used by the town for 10 years, first by the Police Department and then by the Fire Department when it was handed off about five years ago.

At Monday’s selectmen meeting, Frost said he looked into buying used vehicles, but those with less than 50,000 miles were more expensive than quotes the department received for new ones.

The final cost for the new vehicle, from the Ripley and Fletcher dealership in Paris, comes to about $26,792. The town will enter into a lease-purchase agreement with Androscoggin Bank with a 2.19 percent interest rate to finance the new car.