Wilkes-Barre City Council to vote on fire engine purchase

WILKES-BARRE — After a year filled with devastating structural fires for the city of Wilkes-Barre, city council will vote on the purchase of an additional fire engine during Thursday’s session.

In November of last year, firefighters responded to flames engulfing a house in the 400 block of South River Street. Just months later, in January, a massive blaze destroyed three houses and severely damaged a fourth residence on North Empire Street.

And, most recently, crews responded to fires at B’nai B’rith Senior Apartments on East Northampton Street and a double block residence in the 100 block of South Regent Street in February.

The recent emergencies call for an upgrade in equipment, says Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney.

“There’s been a lot of high profile fires in the city over the last three or four months, and I think the public has seen firsthand the job that our experienced firefighters do and the other part of the equation is to have that equipment that can get us to the fire and to help us extinguish it,” Delaney said to council members during Tuesday night’s work session.

The proposed new engine, a 2024 Pierce Enforcer Custom 1500 GPM Pumper, was custom designed by Delaney’s crew. If approved by council, the engine will be contracted by Glick Fire Equipment Company, Inc., and will come at a price tag of $850,000.

But the cost is well worth it to ensure safety, Delaney told council.

“Our goal here is to replace engine number five, which is over 18-years-old and has nearly 8,000 hard miles on it – but miles don’t tell the entire story,” he said, noting that an engine’s fire pump hours are a critical part of the replacement equation.

“Fire pumps have impellers in them to pump the water inside to the firefighters that are inside fighting the fires. It’s critical to have up-to-date equipment that works properly. Should that fire pump fail and those firefighters are inside — that’s really their lifeline,” Delaney added.

Councilman Tony Brooks questioned if the funding for the engine would be taken out of the general fund, which Mayor George Brown said is not the case.

“It will be a lease purchase and, as long as we get the revenue that we expect coming in, we’ll pay that off so that it’s short-term,” he said.

According to Delaney, the new engine comes complete with a 750-gallon water tank, and should serve the city for at least the next 15 years. If approved by council, it will be ready for use by mid-October.

Property tax forgiveness

Also during Thursday’s session, council members will vote on forgiving taxes on the vacant properties at 38-46 Carey Ave., which were donated to Wyoming Valley habitat for Humanity late last year.

Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity, which has served the area since 1992, builds simple, decent homes for Wyoming Valley families in need. The entirety of the home building (or restoration, depending on the property) process is completed with volunteer labor.

With the lots on Carey Avenue, Brown says the nonprofit will be able to house local families in need.

“There will be four possibly five new houses on that property, which would bring that whole neighborhood back and bring them back on the tax rolls,” he said.

During Thursday’s session, council will also vote on:

• Authorizing the proper city officials to sign all necessary documents related to awarding the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, SRI, in the amount of $11,800 for the demolition of 67 Prospect St.

• Authorizing the proper city officials to sign all necessary documents related to awarding the contract to the most qualified service, Franchelli Enterprises, Inc., for the City of Wilkes-Barre One Call Service for a flat rate of $100 per hour.

• Authorizing the provisions of Section 20-4 of the Wilkes-Barre Code of Ordinances (open consumption of alcoholic beverages) to be temporarily suspended and not enforced for the Fine Arts Fiesta from May 15 – May 19.

• Appointing Ron Slusser to the Police Civil Service Commission.

• Appointing Jack Nolan to the Zoning Hearing Board.

• Repealing Article III of Chapter 26 entitled “Pave Cuts.”

The regular session will begin at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers on the fourth floor of Wilkes-Barre City Hall.