New fire trucks for the City of Warren could have cost $2 million and taken over a year to be delivered.

With a tower truck on the brink of going completely out of service, that was a foreboding prospect.

But, earlier this week, Warren City Council approved a $1.4 million purchase through the Pennsylvania COSTARS program to replace the tower and tanker trucks. And the tower truck will be delivered in a matter of months with a loaner truck offered in the interim.

A new engine truck will still take about a year but there’s no doubt that the status of the tower truck was the more pressing concern.

How did a solution come together so quickly?

“There were a number of local fire apparatus dealers involved in this very competitive process,” Fire Chief Rodney Wren told the Times Observer, “and we would like to thank them all for their hard work in trying to help resolve the apparatus issues. By working with these gentlemen, we were able to locate equipment from the many styles and configurations that were cost-effective but would fulfill the needs of our City.”

The city benefited from a bit of a bidding war.

“By purchasing the two pieces of equipment at once, the dealers were able to offer the city their very best and most competitive prices,” Wren said.

But with such a drastic drop in cost and timeline, did the department give up any functions or capabilities that it may have liked?

“The members of the City of Warren Fire Department played an instrumental role in analyzing the designs and options available on these pieces of equipment,” Wren said. “The selected apparatus… may not have all of the fancier options, but no safety options were excluded and are very well suited to our city’s needs.”

These apparatus will give the fire department the ability to provide a higher level of service to our citizens.”

He called the Rosenbauer trucks selected “high-quality fire apparatus that will serve the City for many years to come.”

KAZA Fire Equipment was the selected dealer and Wren said they’re working with the dealer “to expedite the process and establish a timeline.

“The fire department is currently working with KAZA Fire Equipment to expedite the process and establish a timeline. A benefit of working with this company is that the Aerial apparatus mentioned is already partially completed.

He called the purchase “an example of the commitment made by the City of Warren to the safety of the residents and the members of the fire department.”