The City of Ocala’s Fleet Management department is seeking approval from city council members to purchase a new fire engine for Ocala Fire Rescue.

According to city staff, Ocala Fire Rescue currently has 14 fire engines that respond to over 23,000 emergencies each year. In addition to delivering large volumes of pressurized water to extinguish fires, the fire engines are also designed with full-length compartments to store hoses, tools, and auto extrication equipment.

On average, the city’s fleet of fire engines are 11 years old and have nearly 950,000 equivalent miles (one hour of idling is equivalent to 30 miles). City staff feels that the addition of an aerial fire engine would help improve emergency response times.

The city is looking to utilize a competitive contract to purchase a 2023 E-One HR100 Aerial fire engine for $1,169,440.

Due to a price increase from the manufacturer that becomes effective this month, city staff is recommending that the fire engine be purchased by Wednesday, June 22. According to city staff, this would result in a total savings of $179,048, which includes a $76,000 pre-payment rebate that would be refunded to the city in approximately 26 months.

While city staff recommends approval of the proposed purchase, the city council members will decide whether to accept or deny that recommendation during the Ocala City Council regular meeting on Tuesday, June 21.

The Ocala City Council meets at 4 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month at Ocala City Hall, which is located at 110 SE Watula Avenue.