With a 3-2 vote, Black Diamond council decided to donate its 20-year-old fire engine to a community in the country of Belize.
The donation will happen after the Town gets the replacement fire truck. The delivery date has not been established, but Black Diamond CAO Sharlene Brown said the Town's new truck is expected around the end of May or beginning of June.
Other options for the old truck were to consign it or take it to auction.
Coun. Ted Bain spoke out against taking those steps.
“I feel it would be a travesty to take the fire engine that can still serve its purpose, and cannibalize it as has been suggested, sell off the tires, sell off the engine, and then just leave a hulk, so I very strongly want and urge everyone to pass this motion to donate the fire engine to a worthy cause,” Bain said.
The fire engine was built to save lives and property, and it can continue to save lives and property in Belize, Bain said.
Mayor Brendan Kelly voted against donating the truck to Belize.
“Don’t get me wrong, the donation is great,” Kelly said. “I think it’s great that it’s going to be donated to a community that can use it."
But he said the truck could have been sold, and the money put back into the community.
Documents show the Town could have expected to see anywhere from $5,000-$10,000 at auction, or a maximum of $25,000 if they had consigned the truck. There would also be additional storage costs if the truck went to auction.
Kelly said there are a lot of communities in Canada, including First Nations communities, that could have used the donation, but that idea was dismissed by the fact that the truck no longer meets standards for use in North America.
“We thought, do we want to be donating a vehicle that won’t meet expectations,” he said.
Before the vote, Kelly noted councillors Dunning and Lalonde were not in attendance, but that their positions were known. The two councillors were on opposite sides of the issue, and their votes would not affect the outcome, Kelly said.
“If they were both for, or against, I’d let everybody know that was the case, but both of them have spoken at these meetings and let us know where they stand,” he said.
Fire Chief Jamie Campbell said from a humanitarian perspective, donating the truck is an appealing idea.
"To help somebody else, somewhere else in the world, is a noble cause. Sending it down there, I think, is a good idea," Campbell said.
Black Diamond council approved the purchase of a 2020 Pierce/Maximetal 1500 gpm fire engine in January to replace its current truck.
The replacement truck was a floor model for display purposes, so it is lightly used and was a good deal, Kelly said.
The Town saved anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 on the truck itself, and given the savings, the donation of the old truck made more sense, he said.
“We’re going to come out way ahead on this one,” he said. “It’s a really good feeling knowing that our fire department has the resources that they need to keep the community safe.”
