SOUTH OTSELIC – Volunteer firefighters in South Otselic gathered at the station Saturday to get a first look at the department’s new $248,679 fire engine as it arrived from Elmira.

The South Otselic Fire Department is replacing its 22 year-old Pierce engine, the oldest of its two trucks, with a 2009 Pierce “Contender.”

Voters approved the new truck in December. The purchase was planned in accordance with a 20-year truck replacement schedule, fire officials said, and won’t increase fire district taxes.

“After 20 years you reach the point where it actually starts to cost you more to repair these trucks than it does to replace them,” said South Otselic Chief Jeff Hathaway, a 29-year veteran of the squad. “Replacing the old engine with the new one also allows us to keep our Class A pumper rating, which is how we meet our ISO insurance requirements.”