RUMFORD — In about 15 months, a new ladder truck will join the Fire Department fleet.

The Select Board voted unanimously in support of the lease-finance during ITS meeting last Thursday.

“Based on the certain knowledge that National Fire Protection Association guidelines for the continued use of our existing ladder truck will indicate that it should be taken out of service in the first half of 2027,” Town Manager George O’Keefe said.

He said the replacement ladder will be delivered somewhere around December of 2026, with a presumed 30- to 90-day commission period, which would then allow the fire department to take the existing fire truck out of service in compliance with the association guidelines for motor vehicle equipment which specifies that 25 years is the end of its life.

“So, we also have such substantial concerns about various issues with rust within the frame of the truck and continued issues or concerns with the ability of the truck to operate safely based on continued corrosion within the frame and other metal of the vehicle,” said O’Keefe.

The new ladder truck will come from Pierce Enforcer Tower, and top end price is expected to be $2,252,621, which does not include some $80,000 savings on commissions.

O’Keefe said it would be leased-financed, likely through a bank chartered in Maine, at a term of 20 to 25 years. “We’re hoping it will provide coverage for Rumford for the next 20 to 25 years,” he said.

Before the meeting, a workshop was held in the same room with officials from the town of Mexico, with Rumford updating the process of purchasing and financing of the ladder truck.

With the current ladder truck, there is a joint purchase agreement with Mexico paying 20% and Roxbury paying 1%.

The agreement was made in 2012. Fire Chief Chris Reed said the ladder truck, purchased used in 2008 after five years of service, is now 22 years old.

O’Keefe shared that a new joint purchase agreement might carry a percentage to Mexico of a cost as low as 14% or as high as 25%. Mexico is waiting for more lease-financing cost information and a clear indication about its share of the cost before deciding whether to again enter a joint purchase agreement.

He added that Roxbury has already agreed to be a part of a new joint purchase agreement.