Brookline Fire Department Invests $1.5M to Upgrade Fleet With Two New Engines

The Brookline Fire Department recently purchased two new fire engines to upgrade its fleet at a cost of $1.5 million. 

Matt Wiers, a representative from Pierce, which manufactured the two engines for Brookline, is working with the Brookline Fire Department team. He's training fire captains, deputies, firefighters, and lieutenants to operate the engines' pressure governor and control systems.

Brookline Fire Chief Brian Sullivan confirmed that a fire engine has a life span of approximately 20 years. A typical fire engine may operate on the front line for about 15 years and serve as a backup for about five years. After that point, it is sold for parts or sent for scrap. 

Brookline's two new engines, which arrived at Fire Station 6 at the beginning of February, replace existing Engines 1 and 4. The fire department traded in its old Engine 4, also manufactured by Pierce, for $130,000. The old Engine 1 will remain on Brookline's fleet and serve as a backup under the new Engine 8 name. The last time the Brookline Fire Department received a new fire engine for its fleet was in 2019.

Brookline's policy is to replace frontline engines every 17 years to keep the fleet refreshed. The department rehabilitates each engine approximately every 10 years to extend its life for an additional seven years of operation.

Justin Tuttle has worked at the Brookline Fire Department for 14 months but has 20 years of experience as a technician with the Worcester Fire Department. Tuttle told Brookline.News that opportunities to work on new engines don't come around often, as fire departments only update engines every 10 to 15 years.

“My Magic 8 Ball doesn't work all the time,” Tuttle said. “Sooner or later, they are all going to break down.”