Fire Chief Scott LaBonte provided a lengthy presentation to the Sault Ste. Marie City Commission on Monday, convincing the members to waive the city purchasing policy and bidding process as the department prepares to purchase a new fire truck.
Officially called an aerial apparatus, the roughly $1.35 million expenditure will provide firefighters with a 100-foot ladder truck equipped with a bucket at the end to battle fires for the next quarter century.
Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton Wisc. has provided Sault Firefighters with their last three major purchases, LaBonte said reviewing the history of the department’s fleet. In April of 1990, the city spent nearly $500,000 to purchase a Pierce Lance 75-foot ladder truck which has been in use for 29 years. The new ladder truck would replace this aging, yet still functioning, fire apparatus.