OXFORD — Oxford’s fire department is bracing for delays with high price tags as it seeks to replace its aging Engine 5 as well as a 2018 ambulance that was totaled in a Route 26 crash last June.

Fire Chief Ashley Wax-Armstrong has presented options that could shave years of waiting from the process. But with those vehicles available on a first come-first serve basis, the best way to acquire them would be by waiving the standard bid policy.

At Oxford’s August 15 Select Board meeting, the fire chief said that the ambulance involved in the June 14 accident has been totaled.

One of Oxford’s 2018 ambulances was totaled July 12 after it was involved in a head-on collision on Route 26. Supplied photo

Because it was totaled, Oxford is eligible for expedited delivery of a new ambulance.

The lead time for fire department vehicles to be delivered currently runs three to four years.

Including the totaled vehicle, Oxford last ordered two ambulances in 2018 and took delivery the following year.

Ashley Wax has located two suitable replacements: a Ford gas model outfitted with a Braun ambulance box for $430,000 and a Ford diesel with a Demers ambulance box for $380,000.

The Demers could be delivered within a few months; the Braun would be ready in about a year. The two vehicles are already on the lot of the dealer, Autotronics of Bangor.

“Ordering a new ambulance through regular channels, it can take three to four years to receive,” Wax-Armstrong said. “But because of how we lost ours due to a crash it can be bumped in priority for delivery.”

She went on to explain that Braun provides more durable and higher quality equipment than Demers, adding that a gas engine would be preferable over diesel.

The totaled ambulance and the one remaining in service are both diesel trucks equipped with Braun boxes.

Currently, Autotronics is providing Oxford with a loaner for the totaled vehicle at no charge; the town is responsible for its maintenance.

Select board Vice-Chair Dana Dillingham asked if it is possible to purchase the loaner.

Wax-Armstrong answered that while it works well enough as stopgap equipment, it is 10 years old with 158,000 miles – older and less likely to remain reliable in the future.

Selectmen declined to take advantage of the expedited option and directed Wax-Armstrong and Town Manager Adam Garland to follow the town’s policy of posting a notice request for proposal.

Oxford’s ambulance issue mirrors the challenge of acquiring a fire truck as approved during annual town meeting June 1.

Back on July 18, Wax-Armstrong presented estimates she had collected for the purchase of a mini-pumper fire truck, which would allow the department to more easily reach waterfront properties located on private narrow lanes.

A Ford F550 that conforms to the town’s needs could be acquired and delivered by February from Alexis Fire Equipment in New Hampshire. The price, as outfitted, would have been $491,000. The cost of the chassis, $78,000, would be paid up with funds from OFD’s capital reserve account.

Wax-Armstrong told the board she was looking at eliminating some apparatus options that would cut $30-40,000 off the price. She suggested a lease-purchase arrangement be used to acquire the truck when delivered.

Selectmen balked at spending that much money without collecting competitive bids and requested that the fire chief post a request for proposal as per standard procedure, especially since other towns have purchased similar equipment at much lower prices.

Wax-Armstrong and Garland put out an RFP for a mini-pumper earlier this month. The deadline to receive bids is Sept. 3, with the Select Board set to review proposals during its Sept. 5 business meeting.