Raymond’s oldest fire engine will be replaced if the city’s citizens approve a $525,000 bond measure on the Feb. 9 special election ballot.

Raymond Fire Chief Todd Strozyk said the 1992 Seagraves fire engine “has reached the end of its useful service life and no longer gives our citizens full credit for our fire insurance rating.”

The engine has an open cab, where the rear seats are not enclosed. Strozyk said that means it no longer meets the standard safety requirements for fire apparatus. The rig also failed parts of its annual pump testing and the required repairs nearly exceeding the value of the truck.

The bond would cost the owners of a $200,000 home about $70 a year in increased property taxes, which is a savings compared to the rise in insurance rates that would come with keeping the engine in service, Strozyk said.

“To put things in perspective, if we were to lose full credit for our aging fire engine, the increase in homeowners insurance rates could potentially go up several hundred dollars per year,” said Strozyk. “Passing this fire engine bond is a solid investment.”

The city’s 2004 fire engine was paid off in 2019.

“This bond would provide funding not only for the apparatus but also the necessary modern equipment needed to keep our firefighters safe,” said Strozyk. “We have squeezed every ounce of life out of this fire apparatus,” said Strozyk. “Waiting any longer for a replacement will just cost the citizens more money, ether in higher property taxes or increases in fire insurance premiums.”