RUMFORD — The town is beginning the process of replacing the fire department’s ladder truck, which was purchased used in 2008 and is now 22 years old, accodring to Fire Chief Chris Reed.

At a workshop Thursday, Reed said ladder truck number 3 is now beat down with rust and there are structure issues with the frame.

Town Manager George O’Keefe said a new truck would take up to three years to build, so with a target of 2028 it would need to be ordered in April of 2026.

Reed said the latest quote for a new ladder truck is approaching $2 million.

Asked about trying to purchase another used ladder truck, Reed said because of the cost, the price for used ladder trucks are rising so quickly before being purchased, it probably makes sense to just buy new.

Reed said he received a quote to sell ladder truck number 3 for around $95,000, but he wants to check around to see if the town could get more for it.

Select Board Chairperson Chris Brennick said in the meantime they will check with local financial institutions for finance packages before holding another workshop in the fall.

For the current ladder truck, Rumford had a joint purchase agreement with Mexico paying 20 percent and Roxbury paying 1 percent.

At the Mexico Board of Selectmen meeting July 15, Town Manager Jack Gaudet relayed that Rumford is looking to get a new ladder truck in 2028 and wanted to know if surrounding towns wanted to venture into that purchase with an agreement.

Mexico Fire Chief Mat Theriault said the purchase agreement started when Gary Wentzell was fire chief in both towns.

“I think if Chief Wentzell wasn’t chief on both sides of the river, we wouldn’t have went that way (with an agreement) because they would have come anyway. Mutual aid, that’s how it works,” Theriault said.

Theriault said Mexico pays almost $6,600 a year, or about 20 percent towards the maintenance of the ladder truck.

“Rumford selectmen came over two or three years ago and we discussed getting out of it (the agreement). But we couldn’t come to an agreement, but we (the previous select board) did let them know that we didn’t want to be in on the next purchase,” Theriault said.

Theriault noted that that $6,600 a year is “more than I get (for maintenance) for all three of my trucks. So it doesn’t really work all that great for Mexico.”

He added that if there’s any money left in the maintenance account when they go to get a new one, Mexico will get 20 percent of that. And then whatever they get for a trade-in value or a sale on that truck, Mexico gets 20 percent of that back.

Plus, in the agreement, Theriault said Mexico also traded in a fire truck towards the purchase, “so we gave up one of our trucks to purchase that one.”