The Chicago Tribune has this article:

The Winnetka Village Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of a $568,722 fire engine, and an appreciative local resident stepped up and offered to pay for the new vehicle’s bell.

Winnetka Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky said the purchase of a 2015 pumper fire engine from the village’s sole bidder, Smeal Fire Apparatus Company, is needed to maintain a reliable fleet, as the fire department is retiring a fire engine purchased in 1996.

The village will save roughly $17,000 by using Smeal’s pre-payment option, Berkowsky said, and the fire engine’s price is also less than the $615,000 the fire department had budgeted for the purchase.

The new fire engine will be rotated with a fire engine the department purchased in 2000, while officials hope to sell the 1996 vehicle for roughly $30,000, Berkowsky said.

Stepping up following the council’s unanimous approval of the purchase of the fire engine, Winnetka resident John Roberts expressed his gratitude to the fire department, which he said recently assisted his family during an emergency at their home. “I’d like to provide a bell in honor of the Winnetka firefighters from the past present and future,” Roberts said. “We had an occasion for the fire department to visit, and they were overwhelmingly professional and courteous, and showed kindness and empathy,” said Roberts, who did not specify the amount of his donation, nor the cost of the fire bell.

Tags: resident buys bell for new fire truck, Smeal Fire Apparatus Company, Winnetka Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky, Winnetka Fire Department, Winnetka orders new engine