Yellowknife (Sep 10/03) - Council has approved spending nearly $750,000 for a new top of the line fire truck.

The decision to buy the $746,750 Quint truck from Smeal Fire Apparatus did not come without a lengthy debate, however.

Coun. Dave Ramsay said he was concerned the city would have "a cadillac fleet of fire trucks," calling the purchase too expensive.

"I appreciate the hard work (of the fire department) but the taxpayers would do well to save $400,000. I cannot support it," said Ramsay.

Other councillors did not share Ramsay's point of view.

Con. Blake Lyons said he could not see why the truck would be compared to a Cadillac.

"It's an efficient vehicle. We would be buying the best we could with regard to the type of equipment we want," Lyons said.

While Coun. Alan Woytuik voiced his objection to the policy of procurement every 10 years, he supported the purchase.

Both he and Coun. Ben McDonald did note should existing equipment require repair, the department could be left without adequate aerial ladder service.

Considering the purchase an efficient use of resources, Coun. Robert Hawkins felt it essential to have a well-equipped fire department.

"If we don't have a backup system and they couldn't come to your house, nothing else matters," he concluded.

"I agree. The logic is to buy greater efficiency. This town will see more density and time will tell," Coun. Dave McCann said.

Mick Beauchamp, chief of the Yellowknife Fire department, said with the purchase of this new truck, the current 10-year-old truck will be moved from front-line service, where it is used daily, to second-line service and used less frequent. That would prolong the life of the department's existing trucks.

"This Quint truck made the crew more efficient," he said of the current vehicle, which allows one fire crew to do the work of two crews.

The Quint functions as both an aerial ladder truck and a pumper. This new truck will likely arrive next June. The oldest truck will go on the reserve list after its 30 years of service.