![Chief: New BCFD Truck Costs $1 Million](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2017/01/BCFD-Chief-David-Schmaltz-1-25-17-WBCK.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Chief: New BCFD Truck Costs $1 Million
You've heard the old saying "when it rains, it pours". That's the way Battle Creek Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz feels after a string of challenges has the department replacing a wrecked fire truck and rerouting calls that would have come into Station 1 downtown.
A fire call in December 2016 ended up with a Battle Creek fire truck sliding down Washington Avenue on icy pavement. The truck ended up on its side, totaled. Schmaltz tells WBCK the department will take delivery of a new truck soon - at a cost of just less than $1 million.
And that cost is for an off-the-lot truck which is not a custom model, build specifically for the department. That, Schmaltz said, would have cost about $100,000 to $200,000 more. And, order to delivery, Schmaltz said it could take as long as a year before a new truck is rolling on Battle Creek streets.
Schmaltz said insurance will cover about $443,000 of that cost, after a payout for the totaled truck.
In addition, the department has dealt with other aging vehicles in need of repair, including two with cracked frames.
Click the player below to hear more.
Hear The Richard Piet Show weekday mornings from 5:30-9 on WBCK.
More From WBCKFM
![Train Derailment; No Problem For Battle Creek Firefighters](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2023/04/attachment-Hazardous-Chemical-Training_Battle-Creek-Fire-Department.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Fire Blazes Through A Battle Creek Home Saturday Evening](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2023/01/attachment-371-W-Jackson01212023_Battle-Creek-Fire-Department.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Fire Ravages A Rural Battle Creek Farmhouse Killing Three Pets](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2022/12/attachment-13774-Renton-Road_Google-Maps.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Fire Strikes Battle Creek Home As Holidays Approach](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2017/04/Fire-Engine-3-BCFD.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Woman And Young Boy Found Dead In Battle Creek Home](http://townsquare.media/site/43/files/2020/07/Ambulance.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Battle Creek Welcomes New Fire Chief](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2022/10/attachment-Fire-Chief-Bill-Beaty_City-of-Battle-Creek.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Battle Creek Firefighters Conduct Another Heroic Rescue](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2020/05/Untitled-design-2020-05-06T103919.533.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Battle Creek Woman Rescued From Blazing Smoke-Filled Home](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2022/07/attachment-Fire-Hose_Anthony-Devlin-GettyImages-1386197785.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Battle Creek Family’s Home Destroyed By Raging Fire](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2020/05/Untitled-design-2020-05-06T103919.533.jpg?w=980&q=75)