SYRACUSE — A hastily convened 11th-hour special meeting of the Turkey Creek fire board Wednesday morning, Sept. 30, will save local taxpayers $17,564.

The board unanimously approved the purchase of a 2016 Type III diesel chassis for the department’s scheduled replacement ambulance. The order must be placed by the end of the day Wednesday, as General Motors has announced it will stop manufacturing the product and will take no more orders after Sept. 30.

The deadline for ordering the chassis was actually Tuesday, Sept. 29, but Fire Chief Mickey Scott negotiated the extension to accommodate the special meeting.

After Wednesday, only the more expensive, less suitable Type I chassis will be available.

The Type III chassis is favored by the department for its superior maneuverability and better access to confined spaces. Diesel is preferred over a gasoline engine because the department operates its own diesel fuel tank and diesel engines present short- and long-term savings in operational costs.

The chassis will be delivered by the vendor, Penn Care, to Braun Ambulances in Van Wert, Ohio, for assembly and installation of the ambulance unit. The entire process, from contract signing to delivery of the ready-for-service vehicle, is estimated to take 240 days.

“We’ve always had good success with Braun,” said Scott. “The fact that the vehicle we’re replacing is 14 years old should give you an idea of Braun’s quality,” he told the board.

The board’s motion specifically authorized the chassis order but also included the entire vehicle purchase process.

The public notice stated the purpose of the meeting as “finalizing the purchase of an ambulance as budgeted, with the purchase of the chassis and body separately and directing the fire chief to place the chassis order immediately to obtain maximum savings to the territory.”

There was some question whether the town council needed to specifically approve the chassis purchase, but township attorney Andrew Grossnickle recently advised the fire board it could proceed on its own.

The entire purchase price for the ambulance, estimated to total a little more than $217,000, was previously budgeted and approved by the fire board, township board of trustees and Syracuse Town Council.