The Princeton Council awarded a $257,773 contract to a Pennsylvania-based company for the purchase of a high water rescue truck to be used for rescue purposes.
The bid was awarded to Eastern Surplus & Equipment, which is based in Feasterville, Pa. It was the lowest responsible bidder.
A second bid of $334,936 was submitted by Fire Line Equipment LLC of New Holland, Pa.
The high water rescue truck would be used by the town’s Department of Emergency Services to rescue and evacuate motorists who become stranded by overflowing streams, officials said.
It would also be used to rescue occupants of homes and to transport people to the hospital during flooding and storm conditions. The town’s current emergency vehicles are not designed for such uses, officials said.
According to the bid specifications, the high water rescue truck would accommodate as many as 26 people. It would have ground clearance of 22 inches, and be able to ford water as deep as 50 inches.
“In ever increasing severe rainstorms due to climate change, these flooding situations are more common than ever,” said Michael Yeh, director of Princeton’s Department of Emergency and Safety Services.
Quaker Road, off Mercer Road, is periodically closed because of flooding from Stony Brook. River Road, off Princeton-Kingston Road/Route 27, also has been closed because of flooding from the Millstone River.
