Department seeks top dollar for fire truck

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck Fire Department is hoping to get as much money as possible when it sells its 1992 Boardman fire truck.

The Board of Mayor and Burgesses voted last week to waive the normal bidding process to sell the fire truck, which has served as Engine 2 for the past 22 years.

Fire Chief Ken Hanks explained the charter requires the department to advertise the truck locally and let people bid on it. However, the department has not had much luck with that in the past.

In the 1980s the department advertised its 1965 International Harvester locally and received one bid for $1,200. The department found out later that truck was worth about $15,000, Hanks said.

Recently, he said, the department received one bid of $1,500 for its 1977 Mack truck from one of the firefighters, who was then able to sell it for $8,000, he added.

“I don’t want to see that happen again,” Hanks said.

Hanks said the department will sell the Boardman fire truck through the Alabama-based broker company, Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, which will advertise the truck nationwide.

Hanks said the cost to have the truck advertised would be 10 percent of the sales price.

Borough Attorney Ned Fitzpatrick advised the board this would be a legitimate reason to waive the bidding process.

“Really the process has changed, but as technology and the whole procedure of bidding changes over time our charter still stays the same,” Fitzpatrick said.

Deputy Mayor Tamath Rossi commended Hanks for being proactive in his approach.

“This is a clear example of a way we can realize as much money back for the taxpayers as possible,” Rossi said. “We want to make sure we are getting as much as we can. We already have a precedent that’s been set where people are getting great deals on our nickel.”

Hanks said there is a market for the engine because it is a closed cab, which means it has four doors that close.

“It’s a big deal for us to be able to advertise in trade magazines and websites nationwide,” Hanks said. “There is a used market for that truck even though it is 22 years old.”