Excerpts from the ForestParkReview.com:

The Forest Park Fire Department will purchase of a new fire engine and an ambulance thanks to a grant from the federal government and action taken by the village council.

The fire engine will cost $450,000, with $428,572, or 95 percent covered by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Program grant. The village will pay the remaining 5 percent, $21,428.00. This will replace a 1993 engine used as a reserve.

To facilitate purchase of the engine, the village also entered into an inter-local for cooperative purchasing contract with the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Gillian explained the contract fulfills terms of the agreement for the grant, which he said village officials have been pursuing for years.

Officials are still working on specifications and manufacturers but hope to place the order for the engine by the end of September. They will purchase the engine from a company that produces all components rather than the chassis from one company and the body from another.

The ambulance, a Road Rescue demonstrator, is $154,000 and will replace a 2005 model that will be traded in.  Funding for a new ambulance has been budgeted in each of the previous four years, but the money was needed elsewhere.The fire department hopes to accept delivery in early October.

The new vehicles join a 2003 truck and a 2007 engine in the department’s fleet.

To help finance the purchases, the village council voted Monday to establish a 10-year $750,000 line of credit with Forest Park National Bank. Gillian explained the line of credit will be used to finance the initial equipment and vehicle purchases. After the final purchases are made, the village will refinance with loans, 10-year loans for what he called the “big-ticket items” and five-year loans for the lower-cost purchases.

thanks Dan

Tags: Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant, Forest Park FD to buy an engine and ambulance, Forest Park Fire Department