TURNERS FALLS – Turners Falls Fire District voters have unanimously approved purchase of a demonstrator model ladder truck to replace the fire department’s 30-year-old model.

The Wednesday night vote will allow the Prudential Committee to enter a lease-to-buy agreement and included a down payment of $160,000 for the first year payment. The total cost will be $950,000, including interest, according to Turners Falls Fire Chief John Zellmann.

The new truck is a 2017 model, which has a 107-foot ladder that allows for the ladder to extend 10 degrees lower than the truck. It has a six-person, enclosed cab with air bags. It has a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump, and can contain 500 gallons of water.

The purchase will only affect the taxes of those who own property in the Turners Falls Fire District. The truck will cause at most a 14 cent increase per $1,000 of valuation, Zellmann said.

For a single-family home valued at $178,100 in Turners Falls would see a tax increase of $25.

He said having a ladder truck is useful for chimney fires, safe roof operations and safer aerial operations.

The Insurance Service Office recommended that the old ladder truck be replaced because there are multiple three-story or higher buildings and buildings that require more than 3,500 gallons per minute to extinguish, according to Zellmann.

Zellmann said to purchase a new ladder truck would cost $1.5 million would take 12 to 14 months to receive, making the demonstrator model a better option.

The current fire truck is an 1989 open-cab vehicle with 280,000 mile on it, capable of carrying five people and pumping 1,250 gallon per minute, with a 300-gallon water tank.

“The truck is 30 years old. In 2016, 2017 and 2018 this truck has failed its pump test,” Zellmann said. “We have a serious overheating problem with it.”

He said the overheating problem is with the engine and transmission. The truck also leaks in the waterways and discharge valves, according to Zellmann.

It needs an estimated $33,000 to $40,000 worth of repairs, which Zellmann said does not guarantee it will operate at 100 percent.

The meeting lasted about 20 minutes with few questions asked by voters who attended.