OXFORD – The Oxford Fire Department recently announced that it hopes to replace it’s 20-year-old primary fire truck due to ongoing mechanical issues, and its plan doesn’t involve increased taxes.

According to Oxford Fire Department Chief Ron Martin, the Oxford Fire Department, with support of the Village Board, is proposing to replace its 2002 HME Rescue Pumper with a 2021-22 model year Rescue Pumper at a cost of $750,000.

Martin said the existing 20-year-old engine has exceeded the three life cycles of a rescue pumper, and the funding plan is to allocate $100,000 from the OFD capital reserve with the balance of $650,000 financed with a 20 year bond at two percent interest.

He said the principal and interest payments for the purchase of the engine are already built into the village budgets and will be absorbed within the New York State tax levy cap of 1.31 percent for fiscal 2022 and beyond.

“With the one that we have now, we never know when we go out that door if it’s going to make it to the call - the engine is that problematic at this point,” said Martin. “There have been calls recently where the pumper has failed while attempting to save a home.”

“It’s not going to get any cheaper, I’m a taxpayer too and I was shocked by the prices of new trucks, but this is something that won’t affect the tax base and it’s a matter of life safety.”

Martin said the department attempted to put thousands of dollars into fixing the current engine, but have been met with issue after issue, along with issues on the frame of the truck which would cause it to fail inspections.

He said the 20-year-old HME fire truck the department currently has is no longer cost efficient. He added that the negative impact of depreciation, operating costs, fuel, oil, maintenance, repairs, downtime, obsolete parts, replacement, and operator training far outweighs any positives of attempting to maintain it.

“These factors determine the vehicle's economic life and as the cost to maintain the HME increased with time, it’s now more expensive to operate and maintain than to purchase a new pumper,” said Martin. “We have purchased several of our own trucks using funds from Bingo night throughout the years, and we take pride in being able to purchase things for ourselves without asking for funds from the taxpayers.”

“This is a situation where we need to get this taken care of before someone is hurt.”

Martin said there are also some upgrades that would come with the purchase including a larger engine and transmission, more compartment space, and a deck gun which is a mounted nozzle capable of throwing a large amount of water in low manpower situations.

“One reason for the larger engine and transmission is due to experiences with the current engine,” he said. “Today, we can fill the cab and right out of the station run north and south without many issues but the minute the call is east or west the geography drastically slows down the response.”

“Traveling from Route 12 up County Road 3 the engine hits a top speed of 8 miles per hour. Driving up Midland Hill or County Road 35 we can get up to 12-18 miles per hour. The majority of our fire and rescue calls are in the town where these types of geography are prevalent and time is critical.”

The Fire Department and Village Trustees have completed a question and answer document comprising more than 40 questions and answers regarding the need, efficiency, cost, and timing of the purchase.

Copies are available at the Oxford Village Hall, online at VillageofOxfordNY.com or can be provided electronically upon request to the Village Clerk at VGOxford@stny.rr.com. Officials said due to COVID-19 protocols a Public Information Meeting is not possible at this time.