Some fire trucks may soon lack certification; grant monies sought
A conversation about applying for a $70,000 grant to help fund a new fire engine for the county led to a greater discussion of the county fire department’s woes at the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning.
County Fire Coordinator Danny Townsend said if the grant is received from Rural Fire Truck Rebate Funds, the county would need to come up with the remaining funds, likely at least $180,000. Prior engines were obtained through lease-buy agreements so costs could be spread out over time and that could be done again.
Townsend noted that three of the department’s fire engines, , located at stations in McCool, Sallis and Ethel are all expected to go out of certification within the next year.
Generally, he said, upgrading an engine to meet newer requirements can cost $70,000 to $100,000 per engine.
Townsend said the department also is struggling with a lack of volunteers, with the outlying stations down to one volunteer. As a result, when there are fires, full-time staff are more relied upon in those areas than they once were.
“We hardly ever get a response when we tone out the volunteers,” said Liz Perteet of 911.
“We’re getting to a point where we’re going to have to suggest hiring all full-time people to put in those stations,” said Townsend.
