Irvington Fire Department receives new fleet of vehicles

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IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington Fire Department has upgraded its vehicles with new trucks and engines, and the new fleet couldn’t have come at a better time. With 2020 just around the corner, Mayor Tony Vauss views this move as another step forward for the township.

“Ever since I took office on July 1, 2014, my goal was to make the township of Irvington clean and safe,” Vauss told the Irvington Herald on Wednesday, Nov. 13. “This is a part of my continuing commitment to do just that. Before I took office, we had aging fire equipment that had been here for over a decade and we’ve been able to gradually get new equipment and vehicles to continue to move our township forward.”

The IFD now has six fast-response vehicles and two engines. A new engine in 2017 replaced a 1992 engine; a new ladder truck in 2018 replaced one from 2002; and a 2019 Ford Expedition for the deputy chief replaced a 2007 Ford. In addition, this year the Special Operations group received a Ford F450 pickup truck to replace a 2001 Dodge; the Training Division received a Ford F350 pickup truck to replace a 1998 Ford; and three more vehicles will be replaced in 2020.

With Irvington’s capital budget making a new fleet of vehicles possible, the new engine was purchased for $460,000; the ladder truck for $860,000; the 2019 Ford Expedition for $55,752; the 2019 Ford F450 for $63,500; and the 2019 Ford F350 pickup truck for $58,720. The Essex County Pooled Government Loan Program will cover the costs of two engines that are to be replaced in 2020.

Fire Director John Brown said he can attest to the age of the vehicles the Fire Department has had to use, and is glad he was around to witness the upgrades.

“When the mayor came into office in 2014, he encountered an aging fleet of vehicles,” Brown told the Irvington Herald in a phone interview on Wednesday, Nov. 13. “The mayor saw the need to replace these vehicles, to allow the firefighters to effectively and safely do the job, to protect themselves and the residents of all that pass through Irvington.”

“Great job, Mayor Vauss, of taking care of public safety and all its residents for a cleaner and safer Irvington,” Brown added.

  Irvington Fire Department, John Brown, Mayor Tony Vauss