Fire Chief John Cybart and Kevin Lantowsky, president of the local firefighters' union, were backed by about 50 firefighters and their families as they urged the council Monday night to approve an "emergency" authorization of $450,000 for a new truck to replace a 17-year-old vehicle with more than 113,000 miles.

Fire officials said the truck recently broke down on its way to a fire, requiring a 29-year-old back-up truck to be used. They said water leaks from the truck, and that doors and seatbelts are rusting. "Every day, as firefighters, we risk our lives to help protect the public in Stratford," Fire Lt. Michael Camperlengo told the council. "But we have a real crisis with our firetrucks, especially Engine No. 2, which has been patched up numerous times and must be replaced.

"How many of you would rely on a 17-year-old car to get to work every day?" Camperlengo asked. "Well, we have to use a firetruck that old that should have been replaced years ago."

Despite Camperlengo's appeal to the council, both Mayor James R. Miron and council Chairman Michael Henrick, usually on opposite sides of issues, agreed the town should not rush into spending nearly one-half million dollars on a new truck that won't be available for more than a year.

They also agreed that the matter was not handled correctly, saying fire officials and some council members, particularly Councilwoman Amy Wanamaker, D-6, should not have brought firefighters to appear before the council.

Instead, the mayor and Henrick said the "proper procedure" would have been for Cybart and Wanamaker to contact the mayor directly and work through his office.

Wanamaker said Tuesday she "strongly disagrees" with both Miron and Henrick.

"How can it be inappropriate to bring this to the council's attention when we learned Monday night that the firetruck situation is even worse than we thought and we need to move quickly to resolve it?" she said. "This is my district and I have been inundated with calls from firefighters and citizens expressing serious safety concerns."

After lengthy discussion Monday, Miron and the council directed Cybart to look into finding a newer, used firetruck that would be far less costly, and then plan to present a long-term, capital-needs proposal to replace outdated equipment on an ongoing basis.

Miron pointed out, however, that he included a new firetruck as part of his capital-improvement budget the last two years, only to have the council take it out.

"I'm not insensitive to the needs of the Fire Department," Miron said Tuesday. "But every public safety agency can come before the council and myself to demand new equipment. We need a short-term solution while planning ahead for the future."

The mayor said the town could obtain a newer, used firetruck for between $100,000 and $150,000, and later use it as part of its fleet to replace an older vehicle.

Henrick was even more adamant.

"We have an obligation to town residents to control our budget and not rush into spending nearly a half-million dollars," Henrick, R-10, said. "Frankly, rusty seatbelts and doors, and water leaks, are things that can be fixed." Fire officials, however, said even some of the department's "newer" trucks are at least 10 years old — an age when they should be replaced.

"I drove Engine 2 today and there is always the worry it's going to break down," Firefighter James Rose told the council Monday. Lantowsky, the union president, said, "Every firefighter in this town takes pride in doing our job. But we need equipment we can count on to protect the public."