It is recommended that the City Council authorize the purchase of two 4 x 4 brush fire trucks from the Texas Association of School Boards BuyBoard Cooperative Purchasing Program Contract No. 323-09 for a cost not to exceed $289,790.00 with payment due 30 days after receipt of invoice.

One of the brush fire trucks is a replacement for a unit that can no longer be economically maintained and will be sold at auction. The other truck is a new unit needed for the new Station No. 34.

The trucks will be used by firefighters to transport personnel and equipment to fight brush, grass, structural and traffic accident fires in limited off-road access areas and where fast fire knock downs with minimal liquid run off is desirable.

The trucks will be Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) 4 X 4 off-road capable brush trucks. Units have a front bumper mounted Akron Fire Fox monitor nozzle with a joy-stick controller mounted inside the cab to be used for operating the Fire Fox system without firefighters having to stop or exit the truck. CAFS foaming system also includes a 20 gallon foam concentrate tank built into the 300 gallon water tank and a GHH/RAND CE-55 rotary screw air compressor. All components for the CAFS system are skid mounted and secured to the bed of the Ford F-450 chassis.

The Waterous CAFS compressed air foam firefighting system is a highly effective fire fighting system. It has the fastest fire knockdown time and uses a minimal amount of water. Using this system will considerably reduce the risk of damage from water and smoke and it will better protect firefighters and structural contents. In addition, the CAFS system improves safety for the firefighters, preserves the site for arson investigation and reduces impact on the environment.

These vehicles are available from the Texas Association of School Boards Local Government Purchasing Cooperative BuyBoard and the trucks meet all specifications. The Equipment Services and Fire Departments reviewed the pricing and find the cost to be reasonable. Under Section 271.102(c) of the Texas Local Government Code, a local government purchasing an item through a cooperative purchasing program satisfies any State law requiring that the local government seek competitive bids for purchase of the item.

This equipment purchase is funded via the 2009 sale of Certificates of Obligation.

M/WBE - A waiver of the goal for M/WBE subcontracting requirements was requested by the Purchasing Division and approved by the M/WBE Office because the purchase of goods is from sources where subcontracting or supplier opportunities are negligible.