For the third straight year, Lehighton Fire Department’s request for a grant for a new firetruck appears as if it may come up empty.

Borough fire Chief Patrick Mriss told borough council on Monday that it appears as if the department has again been passed over for a grant it applied for to get a new firetruck.

Mriss said that even if the department would again apply for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the earliest it would get the truck would likely be several years out.

That leaves the department with a 30-year-old ladder truck, he said.

“I don’t think we can wait,” Mriss said. “It’s only a matter of time before something major goes wrong with it.”

At that, council agreed on a 6-0 vote to advertise the department’s 1994 KME Pump firetruck on Municibid.