Fire truck engine fix nearly complete

The Belgium Fire Department hopes to have its fleet at full strength soon.

It has been without its 1995 pumper for months since the truck blew an engine on the way to a training session.

The truck has been at How-Dea Service Center in Belgium being fitted for a new engine.

Fire Chief Dan Birenbaum had hoped to have the truck back by the end of the year, but there was a delay in getting the engine.

The engine has since arrived and was installed. Now, a few details are being worked out before the department can get the truck back.

Birenbaum has his fingers crossed that it won’t be needed.

“You’re just worried if you ever need that third engine. You never know when a fire could start,” he said.

The engine only had 20,000 miles on it. Town Chairman Tom Winker said he spent hours trying to find a warranty on it but didn’t have any luck.

The truck is slated to be replaced in 2025, according to the department’s schedule.

The engine costs $29,700. The Town of Belgium agreed to pay $12,000 — Winker said the money is being taken out of the roads budget — with the village paying $8,800. The department will kick in the final $8,900.

That’s the second recent unexpected cost for the department, which is replacing its 1993 grass fire truck with a new and improved version that will be equipped with foam and is expected to respond to nearly all calls.

The department had planned to replace the truck, but the cost was nearly $15,000 higher than expected.

The truck costs $89,264, more than the expected $75,000. The town and village agreed to split the $75,000 price according to equalized property value. The town will pay $43,305 and the village $31,695.

The department was planning to pick up the remaining $14,264 through its budget and the sale of the old truck, but an anonymous donor stepped in to pay the balance.