The River Forest Village Board approved spending more than $90,000 in unexpected fire department expenses at its last September village board meeting.
Of that total, $68,604 will cover the cost of three equipment items for the new ambulance that was ordered a year ago, and $23,302.21 will cover the cost of emergency repairs for engine 213.
In a memo to Matt Walsh, village administrator, Fire Chief Tom Gaertner explained that they received the estimated cost of the three items when they purchased the ambulance for $304,021. But he recently learned that the items were subject to an 8% price increase that will take effect Nov. 1. Purchasing the Stryker power lift and cot, AeroClave decontamination system and Ziko oxygen system now results in a savings of $5,488.32.
“Since covid, manufacturers are no longer absorbing the many price increases that they are experiencing due to supply chain and lack of labor issues,” Gaertner told Wednesday Journal. “That includes the price on third party vendor items such as the items we had passed at the board meeting Sept. 25.”
“Being that it takes two to three years to get a vehicle built now a days, manufacturers cannot lock in any pricing into their contracts. They have no idea what the cost of materials, etc., will be two years out. It is causing a lot of frustration for fire and police departments nationwide for sure.”
In response to a question from Bob O’Connell, Gaertner explained the items will be stored onsite until the new ambulance is delivered in late 2024 or early 2025 as opposed to scheduling delivery of the items at the same time as the delivery of the ambulance.
Gaertner said the department members learned of the issues with the engine “at the last minute.”
He said the brakes “suddenly began making a loud noise” when the engine was returning from a call. He said the engine was taken out of service “immediately” and taken to the department’s service provider, Fire Service Inc. While there the engine underwent is annual preventative maintenance inspection, which revealed an electric issue that was preventing the pump from flowing water.
Fire Service employees replaced a wiring harness to remedy the pump issue and replaced brake pads and rotors. They also replaced the diesel exhaust fluid tank.
Gaertner said the vehicle was out of service for almost two months “due to supply chain issues” and was replaced with our much older reserve apparatus that is maintained for such purposes.
“Luckily we didn’t have any major calls during that time,” he added.
The two-year wait for delivery of the 2024 Life Line Type III Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance is “well past” the previous five- or six-month delivery time, Gaertner said in 2022, explaining that the delay is being caused by supply chain and staffing issues.
Those factors and inflation also have led to price increases over the past year that are causing an escalation in costs for the chassis and production. The budgeted amount for a new ambulance in the 2023 Capital Improvement Plan was $230,000.
The new ambulance will replace a 2014 Type III ALS ambulance, which Gaertner said is in the seventh year of its useful life of eight years. That vehicle will be put into a reserve status and used when the new unit goes down for maintenance, replacing a 2006 model.
Gaertner said in 2022 that the new ambulance will have better emergency lighting, as well as a dual air-conditioning system that will provide better air flow to the rear of the ambulance, and the AeroClave system that scrubs the air and surfaces of the interior of the ambulance, killing bacteria and airborne viruses such as covid-19.
