GREENFIELD — City Council will hear the Fire Department’s request for up to $1.9 million to replace its 25-year-old ladder truck in February.

The capital request, comprising $1.6 million from the city’s Capital Stabilization Fund and an additional $300,000 from its Ambulance Revolving Account, was read first at Wednesday night’s meeting.

In an interview Tuesday, Fire Chief Robert Strahan said the department had first requested funds for the purchase of a new fire ladder in 2020, but the city denied the request because of capital restraints.

“This project has been ongoing for about 12 years,” Strahan said. “We’ve been preparing for the purchase of the ladder truck by redoing our entire fleet, making the fleet more effective and efficient and saving money on the overall fleet, preparing ourselves for the day that we had to replace the ladder.”

Although the department originally requested $2.4 to $2.5 million for the truck’s replacement in 2020, Strahan said the truck will most likely be purchased through a stock manufacturing program in an effort to lower costs.

Noting that typically, fire departments replace their ladder trucks after 20 years of use, Strahan said the department’s current ladder truck has spent a significant period of time undergoing mechanical and electrical repairs.

Strahan noted that it has become increasingly difficult to find parts for the department’s current ladder truck.

“It’s had a large amount of out-of-service time because of repairs that have been needed. The systems on the truck, some of them have been replaced or worked on, but a lot of the systems within the truck are aging out,” Strahan said. “The electrical components of the truck, the computers that are on the truck — there are two thousand vintage computers that run the diagnosis of the truck, the hydraulic system is aging out.”

Greenfield’s current ladder truck was purchased in 2000 when former Chief George Herzig said he hoped to find a ladder capable of reaching 105 feet to accommodate the city’s tallest buildings.

Strahan said that while the department currently uses a platform-style ladder truck, in which firefighters work on a platform, the department is planning to purchase a straight ladder truck, in which there is no platform, but only a ladder on top of the truck, making it smaller and more maneuverable. He added that it also will be equipped with a pump.

The request for funding will be discussed by the Ways and Means Committee before returning to City Council in February.

“This has been a project that has been in the works for about a decade,” Strahan said. “It was part of a full fleet replacement plan that was what we’ve been following, and it was all done to prepare the city for this big purchase.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.