CITY OF HOBOKEN 2010 ANNUAL BUDGET REQUEST DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Steps to be taken to Decrease Cost & Increase Efficiency/ Productivity: An integral component of any community’s capability to provide adequate fire protection is with its fleet of fire apparatus. The Hoboken Fire Division repeatedly outlined in the Capital budget an emergent need for the allocation of funds to purchase new fire apparatus. Each year due to competing priorities amongst city departments our request has been denied. I feel compelled to once again articulate the urgency of a new fire engine purchase this year. The following is a list of fire suppression capable fire apparatus based on the age of the vehicles. One (1) One (1) Two (2) One (1) Two (2)
1987 1987 1993 2003 2003
Mack Fire Engine (pumper) Seagraves Hook & Ladder (aerial) EOne Fire Engines (pumpers) EOne Fire Engine (pumper) EOne Hook & Ladder (aerials)
22 years old 22 years old 16 years old 6 years old 6 years old
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that front line fire apparatus (which each of the above are) have a life expectancy from between 15 and 20 years depending on the amount of usage. The Hoboken Fire Department in 2005 was labeled the busiest fire department per square mile in the United States. The number of emergency responses has not gone down since then but rather has escalated. Therefore based on the NFPA guidelines it is this writer’s opinion that we are alarmingly close to a major emergency regarding our apparatus response capability to the community. This is based on the amount of maintenance/repairs that are increasing yearly coupled with the NFPA recommendations regarding the age of our fire apparatus fleet of vehicles. It is imperative that a new vehicle acquisition be considered right now for this year’s budget and that our long range plan include the purchase of another fire engine in approximately five years. This will reduce the burden on the tax payer by spacing out essential purchases based on the age of the vehicles such as outlined above.