To: Board of Directors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Purchase Order with L.N. Curtis for Firefighting Equipment and PPE
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District), APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute, on behalf of the Fire Chief, a purchase order with L.N. Curtis, in an amount not to exceed $580,000, for the purchase of firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This is a budgeted expense within the approved FY23-24 budget. The expenditure will be 100% funded by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District’s General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
L.N. Curtis is the main distributor for fire, rescue, and emergency response equipment in California. L.N. Curtis is the sole distributor of many of the specialized products and firefighting equipment needed to support our operations.
Within the last two years, the District has experienced significant growth, due to the annexation of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and the contract with the City of Pinole, which has increased the District’s need for equipment as it expands its fleet of apparatus, opens new fire stations, and hires additional firefighters.
The purchase order with L.N. Curtis will allow the District to acquire two sets of rescue tools, including auto extrication equipment, to include hydraulic cutters, spreaders, and telescoping rams for the newly outfitted ladder trucks at Fire Station 81 in Antioch and Fire Station 92 in Brentwood. Each complete set of rescue equipment will cost the District approximately $48,556 each.
The purchase order will also help to reconcile purchases of personal protective equipment for newly hired firefighters in Academy 58 and 59. There are 40 pairs of PPE that will cost the District $4,542 per unit and 66 pairs of PPE at $4,133 per unit.
L.N. Curtis is one of the District’s critical vendors due to their vast inventory of available equipment that meet required National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, and their quick delivery and fulfillment capabilities. The personal protective equipment available through L.N. Curtis is NFPA and OSHA compliant to ensure firefighter safety. L. N. Curtis is often selected as the only local vendor by the manufacturer of the equipment. In addition, L. N. Curtis offers governmental cooperative agreement pricing to the District, when appropriate.
The District is pursuing options to establish a blanket purchase order with L.N. Curtis in the near future to ensure reduced transaction processing times and to avoid delays in receipt of mission critical equipment and PPE.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The District would not be able to procure the required PPE and necessary emergency rescue equipment.