A water shortage caused by frozen hydrants may have contributed to the death of Pine Township volunteer firefighter Bradley Holmes in February, Finley said. An official government report on the incident is due in January.

“But I’m not going to be the one to go to someone’s wife or mother to tell them someone died because we had a 23-year-old fire truck that didn’t work. I just refuse to be put in that position,” Finley said.

Sharon Fire Chief Terrence Whalen said 20 years is about the life of most engines, though some make it to 30 years depending on use. Pumpers get used more than most engines because they tend to go on every call, he said.

Sharon is getting a pumper to replace their 1988 vehicle this year, paid for mostly with grant money.

Whalen said it also helps to have more than one pumper on scene, in case of unforeseen events like mechanical failure. Mercer has only one pumper for structure fire-sized blazes, Finley said.

There are also mutual aid agreements between volunteer fire departments in Mercer County so that multiple pumpers show up at structure fires, Whalen said.

Finley said in East End’s case, they’ll likely be first on scene in the municipalities they serve, and a truck failure could set back response time and still endanger a firefighter.

“You’re looking at the length of time the fire has to burn,” he said. “It’s going to be a much more dangerous fire. Heaven forbid (the pump) gives out while a guy’s in the fire.”