The City of Smithville’s Fire Chief Charlie Parker is making some big requests of the Smithville Board of Mayor and Aldermen, asking for a new fire truck as well as additional full-time firefighters. The request was made on Monday, April 14, during a budget workshop.
Chief Parker is requesting the purchase of a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper, currently priced at $1,248,449, with a prepayment discount of $130, 143, making the city’s actual cost $1,118,305. The delivery of the proposed fire truck would be 37-38 months of order date and would only cover the cost of the truck itself, not the hoses and other equipment. The request would replace the department’s current 2001 model.
“The Smithville Fire Department strives to adhere to as many recommendations, policies, and best practices of the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) as we possibly can. We do this for the safety of our firefighters as well as our citizens and to help reduce liability to the city,” said Chief Parker.
“In my opinion, any vehicle 25 years old should be considered an antique. An apparatus over 25 years will get little ISO credit, and it is considered an antique. It can still be utilized as a reserve pumper, but it is supposed to be brought up to the newer safety standards as mandated by Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Association (FAMA) and the NFPA,” he said.
According to Parker, the cost of equipment needed for the new truck would range between $150,000 to $200,000.
“Most of the equipment in question came with the purchase of Engine 2 in 2001, and a lot of that equipment has a 10–15-year lifespan like the hoses, air packs, and other equipment and some of it just wears out after 25 years. Since we are already at the 25-year mark, a lot of this equipment is already past the suggested life span or just wearing out,” said Chief Parker.
The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on Chief Parker’s requests. Another workshop will be held to prioritize all city needs and potentially scale down some budget requests prior to first reading adoption of the city budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Chief Parker also requested adding three more paid fulltime firefighter positions to the current staff of four. “I would like to ask the city council to fund three more firefighter positions. This would give us enough personnel to staff two firefighters 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Right now, we’re getting 8 hours a day.”
“Having full time personnel helps us provide better and quicker response to our customers, faster knock down of the fire, lessen the severity of the fire, and provide quicker response on vehicle wrecks. It would also help the ISO rating,” said Chief Parker.
Chief Parker is also asking the city to extend the period for them to receive step increases. Payment to volunteers would be increased by $10,000 to $75,000 under Chief Parker’s proposal and the current longevity/retention bonuses would be adjusted.
The city plans to use some remaining funds in the current budget to repair and add new fire hydrants. Chief Parker is asking that more funds be allocated for this purpose in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
“Our ISO rating of 5/5x is based on having working fire hydrants every 1,000 feet apart throughout the city limits. We have identified several areas that do not meet this. There are some areas that do not have any hydrants and some that are 3,000 feet or more apart. These are some of the areas we have identified in need of attention and are currently working to make better: Pack Circle, White Oak Drive, Foster Road, Miller Road, South College, East Broad, and West Broad Street. We currently have a plan to flow, test, and record every hydrant this spring to follow the ISO recommendations and keep our hydrants in good working order,” said Chief Parker.
