SIKESTON — The Sikeston Department of Public Safety will soon have a new ladder truck.
Sikeston City Council approved the purchase of a 2002 E-One 95-foot platform aerial for $185,000 from Brindlee Mountain during a meeting Friday morning. The truck has only 34,000 miles and is in good condition.
“There is nothing else in this price range — it’s a rare truck,” said Sikeston DPS Capt. Derick Wheetley, adding he looked for many hours for a good used apparatus to purchase as there are limited, good used fire trucks on the market. Wheetley said he thought this truck served the city’s needs.
Before coming to Sikeston the truck will be taken to Banner Fire in St. Louis to have the apparatus pump tested, aerial certified, and repairs made to the pump packing and aerial controls.
“We checked it to the best of our ability,” Wheetley said. The sale will be pending the ladder and pump certifications.
The apparatus will replace the ladder truck that was involved in an accident and totaled by insurance. The City received $100,017.50 for the settlement.
Wheetley said the purchase of the truck will help Sikeston's overall ISO score by being a larger ladder. Currently, Sikeston doesn’t have a ladder truck that can reach the top of the newly built Hampton Inn without being in the collapse zone. The new apparatus would check that box and help toward possibly lowering the ISO.
Sikeston’s ISO is rated a 4 on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the best. The purchase of the ladder truck along with the future purchase of a new fire engine from ARPA funds would help the City get closer to a 3.
“A 4 is good, but a 3 would make it better,” said Sikeston Council member Brian Self, who also owns Self Insurance. “I feel like we have a really good department and I’d like to see us get that 3.”
A 3 would mean lower insurance rates for Sikeston residents but Wheetley said there are numerous factors involved in the ISO rating, including training and infrastructure, like water lines.
“We’re trying to make good headway with training,” Wheetley said, adding they have also been working with Sikeston BMU testing hydrants and things that could help lower the ISO.
Wheetley said the truck should serve the city until 2027 or longer.