The Whitehorse Fire Department requires $627,864 to purchase a new aerial ladder/pumper truck if fires in multi-storey buildings are to be fought effectively, city council heard Monday night.

Fire chief Clive Sparks told council the city's pumper truck No. 5503, purchased in 1977, has suffered serious structural damage for the second time in three years and that the equipment's insurance underwriters have recommended it not be repaired.

The damage essentially involved broken ladder rungs. The latest incident occurred just last month.

'Since the purchase of this equipment, there has been an increase in three- to-four-storey buildings in the city,' Sparks said. The city's fire department lacks the ability to get above a three-storey building and spray water down into a fire, he added.

'This equipment would enable us to fight a fire from above and not send firefighters into already-destroyed buildings,' he said.

Sparks explained due to the age of the equipment, a Fire Underwriters Survey currently being done on the city's fire department would not include the truck as part of the Whitehorse firefighting arsenal, and the city could likely face a hike in insurance premiums.

'The Fire Underwriters Survey only gives a value to a vehicle that is less than 20 years old,' Sparks said.

Sparks also said that because the company the city purchased truck No. 5503 from is now out of business, finding parts to repair the ailing vehicle is becoming increasingly difficult.

This is the 10th year in a row the city's fire department has requested the equipment be replaced.

He said after researching various options to purchase a new truck, he had found a suitable one in the United States.

He also said there are several payment options for the truck, including lease-to-own agreements.

Responding to questions from the Star, Sparks said he could declare with certainty that there has been at least one fire in recent memory where, if the city had had a new pumper truck, firefighters could have significantly reduced the amount of property damage resulting from a blaze.

'A fire that I can think of where this kind of equipment would have helped was the fitness centre on Second Avenue.'

The former site of the Peak Fitness Centre, across the avenue from the Star building, was demolished after fire badly damaged it several summers ago.

'That was one area where, if we'd had an elevated master stream (a water hose which can be fired from heights above the fire), we may have been able to put water direct down into the fire and extinguish it faster,' Sparks said.

'As it was, we couldn't put the water down on the fire before the fire had the ability to spread throughout the building.'

During the discussion that followed Sparks' presentation, Robert Fendrick, the city's administrative services director, described a new pumper truck as 'a rather large purchase.'

He advised council that it would have to reopen and amend the city's budget if it was to act on the proposal.

'If it's over $500,000, we have to open the budget bylaw,' Fendrick said.

Responding to questions from Coun. Bev Buckway, Sparks said the lifespan of the proposed pumper truck would be 20 years.