Oct 7, 2016 By Suzanne Elliott 2 min read

Peters Township Council is soliciting bids for a 100-foot stainless-steel aerial fire truck for the township fire department, a purchase that will run an estimated $1 million.

The truck will replace the department’s current 75-foot ladder truck, which has been in use since 2000 and will be sold by the township, according to chief Chief Daniel Coyle. “The truck will give us an additional 25 feet of ladder, which will be useful when we have to get to HVAC systems,” he said.

Township officials have said they plan to finance the ladder truck with an upcoming bond issue that also will be used to acquire a portion of the shuttered Rolling Hills Country Club.

Coyle said that by having a longer ladder, the department will be able to respond to fires at buildings or homes that have a setback of anywhere from 25 to 30 feet. In 2015, the 45-man fire department, a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, responded to more than 1,200 calls.

The truck, which is built to a department’s specifications, takes around a year to build, and there are only eight to 10 places in the United States that do this kind of work, Coyle said.

Bids are due Oct. 14, and a non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held Oct. 18 at the township building. Bids will be open and read at the Nov. 7 council meeting.