City grant writer Kay Simmons will be looking to see if there are any grants available for application that would help pay for a new $600,000 ladder truck the Russellville Fire Department is asking for.

Fire Chief Billy Poole attended a council meeting Tuesday night asking for the new truck expressing concern over the city’s current 20-year-old ladder truck.

“It is a matter of safety,” said Poole adding, “I don’t trust it and I am worried it may fail during a crucial time that could put people’s lives and property in danger.”

The truck had been discussed at a previous meeting but no official decisions were made.

At Tuesday’s meeting Poole handed out and went over a descriptive report that included an inventory of the city’s fire trucks and ages. According to Poole, the city owns six trucks – a 2007, 1999 and 1980 pumper truck, a 1990 ladder truck, a 1995 equipment truck and a 2001 chief's car.

Also in the report were letter’s from mutual-aid fire departments Logan Aluminum, Adairville, Olmstead, Lewisburg and Auburn who do not own a ladder truck and rely on Russellville’s.

“Late last summer the city of Greenville called in the middle of the night needing our ladder truck to help with a large downtown fire they had,” said Poole. “I found myself facing one of the toughest decisions so far as chief, take a chance and send it or say, ‘Sorry we can’t help this time.’ I told the chief I was very sorry but I could not take the chance sending the truck that far out of town knowing the problems we have had with it.”

Poole said it was a few days later that he started receiving calls from Greenville residents wanting to know why he refused to help a neighbor in need.

“After explaining that I did not feel safe sending the truck that far in the middle of the night they seemed to understand,” said Poole. “But I still lost a lot of sleep over the decision not to go help a department in need.”

Poole reminded the council that the issue of the old ladder truck was discussed three years ago with the previous fire chief J.L. Williamson who told the council the fire department was going to need a new ladder truck.

In Poole’s report, he gave a quote he had gotten from Pierce for $599,754 to purchase the new ladder truck. There were three options of payment, one for five years, one for seven and one for 10. Poole recommended the seven year term which would cost the city $101,667 annually for seven years. The city would not have to make a payment till the following year.

Councilman Jimmy Davenport was very vocal about the purchase saying, “This is one of those situations where we know we don’t have the money but you can’t put a value on people’s lives. If in his professional opinion, Chief Poole says we need this and of we don’t it could put someone’s life in jeopardy than I say we listen to him.”

Davenport also said that he believed God would find a way to pay for it in seven years.

Council member Pat Bell, who serves as a volunteer firefighter agreed with Davenport; however, a motion to purchase the truck was never made. Instead Mayor Zick said he wanted to get with grant writer Simmons to see if funds could be obtained through grants first.

“Believe me, I wouldn’t be coming and asking this if we didn’t need it,” said Poole.