NILES — The Niles City Council made a move to upgrade the Niles Fire Department’s aging equipment.

During its Monday meeting, the Niles City Council voted to purchase two fire engine rear mount pumpers from Emergency Vehicles Plus of Milan, Michigan at a cost of $1,565,606.

The pumpers will be paid for using American Rescue and Recovery Act Funds. The two fire engines will replace two vehicles currently in use by the fire department, both of which City Administrator Ric Huff said have surpassed their intended lifespans. Delivery of completed units is expected in two years and once they arrive, the current engines will be sold at auction.

“Well-funded fire departments are replacing their engines at seven to ten years,” he said. “The oldest one we have is a 1995 and the newest one we have is a 2002. They have exceeded their life expectancy.”

The council elected to pre-pay for the units in full as opposed to a $28,484 pre-payment that would have reduced the final cost to $1,537,122 due to projected rising costs over the next few years.

“I would personally like to see us save money,” he said. “I’m sure the money that we save will be put into some of these other projects.”