BERGENFIELD — When the Fire Department welcomed new fire apparatus with a dual wetdown celebration in July, it meant some equipment was put out of commission.

Among the decommissioned vehicles is a 1988 Hahn Pumper firetruck that now sits at the side of the firehouse on Clinton Avenue.

Bergenfield wants to offer it, free, to the town of Samaná in the Dominican Republic, which needs a pumper truck.

The problem is that the donation cannot happen without an appraisal of the truck, said Mayor Norman Schmelz.

"It's got to be appraised, so we didn't have an appraisal, and it has to be under $1,000 for the appraisal," Schmelz said. "If it is over $1,000, then the lawyer is informing us that it has to be put on government bids."

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Specifically, the truck would have to be sold in a government auction if it is valued at over $1,000.

Schmelz said the Fire Department determined that the truck had no value and wanted to donate it. He said the chief of the borough's volunteer Fire Department, Chris Naylis, informed borough officials that the Dominican Republic town was seeking a firetruck.

But Schmelz said Naylis is now going about getting the truck appraised.

The mayor hopes it will end up in a place that has a use for it, and will take on the cost of shipping it from New Jersey.

"What a great act for Bergenfield to be able to do that instead sending it off to the scrap heap and getting just spare money for it," Schmelz said.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

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