Casper Fire-EMS Asking For Funds to Replace Aerial Fire Truck

Casper City Council listened to a funding request from Casper Fire-EMS officials Monday afternoon for the purchase of a new aerial fire truck.

Casper Fire-EMS is asking for roughly $1.5 million from the city’s optional one-cent fund to be put toward the purchase of the new vehicle. Kenneth King, the Casper Fire-EMS division chief of operations, says the current 16-year-old truck is reaching the end of its useful life.

“It’s costing us more than the original cost (of the vehicle) to keep it running, and we’re having trouble with its hydraulic system,” King said. “It’s not able to maintain – it falls on its own once in a while.”

King says insurance rates could be impacted if a new truck isn’t purchased in the near future.

“Your fire insurance ratings and your fire insurance is based on owning this truck and keeping it in service,” King said. “A small percentage of it is owning an aerial truck.”

The current aerial truck was purchased in the late ‘90s for about $600,000.