The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department will most likely send its ladder truck to Pennsylvania in August to have the swivel repaired.

The city appropriated $20,000 in the upcoming fiscal year budget to have the swivel, which is attached to the turntable, repaired.

“The turntable got metal shavings in the hydraulic fluid,” Assistant Chief Ricky Dickens said.

That was one of the signs something was wrong with the 1998 model ladder truck, he said. Then there was a grinding noise during weekly tests of the equipment.

“We were having a hydraulic fluid leak,” Chief Gary Corbet said.

The fire department took the truck to Virginia to find out where the leak was coming from. That required taking the ladder off, something the Virginia factory couldn’t do.

In his budget notes Corbet said the swivel operating the turntable of the aerial ladder “is worn to a point of possible failure. This failure may occur at any time when we have raised the ladder.”

The manufacturer — KME — says the piece may fail the next time it is used or it may last two to three years.

Corbet said today the fire department decided to limit use of the truck and use its reserve pumper.

The ladder truck has a history of problems, Corbet said. The cab has fallen off and because of its weight, it goes through tires quickly and it has spring and alignment issues. “It’s had a history since they got it,” he said.

Corbet doesn’t blame previous administrations for the problems. “It was bought in good faith.”

Using the ladder truck on a limited basis has not been all bad, Corbet said. “We’ve saved a lot of money on fuel.”

The city saved enough money on fuel by using the reserve it was able to buy a new thermal imaging camera to replace a damaged one.

The ladder truck is needed, however, for businesses on the avenue, the high school, the hospital and Carolina Crossroads.

With all the struggles of budget negotiations this year, Corbet said he was pleased. “We’ve got a good budget.”