By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.— During the regular meeting on July 10, the Brandon Township board of trustees unanimously approved two purchases for the fire department.
The first purchase is a new engine for one of the fire engines. The engine that was originally approved, a Cummins L9 engine, is no longer available due to recent increase in demand. Cummins also announced that it will be ending production of that engine, and the issue is industry-wide.
What was approved by the board was the purchase of a X-12 engine, which when exploring options was the best option for longevity of their current units and low cost. The cost will come out of the 2024 budget year.
“This $55,000 is more than what the L9 engine would have been,” said Brandon Fire Chief Dave Kwapis. “The Fire authority, while not happy that we are in this situation, has agreed that we need to move forward with the change as indicated.”
The second purchase that was approved was to purchase a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV to replace the current Captain’s command vehicle, which is a 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe that has over 110,000 miles on it.
“We’re starting to have problems with it,” said Kwapis. “After talking to Oakland County, the vehicle maintenance program that they do, they get rid of them after 110,000, and they try to get rid of them between 5-7 years. We get those vehicles at a very significant discount.”
They also wanted to purchase a second Tahoe for the Fire Marshal/Building Inspector.
“When I was talking to the sales rep, the Silverados all took a significant jump this year, $12,000,” said Kwapis. “And he anticipates the Tahoes are going to take a significant jump next year. The fire authority thought now might be the time to make those purchases while we can save some money.”
The total cost for the two vehicles would be $117,090, including the emergency lighting.