Valparaiso will own a brand new fire truck – in about three years for a price in the high six figures – but it won’t directly cost the city’s taxpayers a dime. 

The City Commission voted on Monday to use about a quarter of its cut of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money it received from the US Federal Government to purchase the unit. The total cost will end up being between $692,000 and $721,000. 

According to Pierce, a manufacturer of fire trucks, a pumper is “[a] fire apparatus with a permanently mounted fire pump of at least 750 gpm (3000 L/min) capacity, water tank and hose body whose primary purpose is to combat structural and associated fires.”

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All commissioners present voted in favor of the measure to purchase the truck. The decision of the council to use ARPA funds will allow them to use the discount the company, Sutphen, offers to purchasers who pay for their truck upfront.