By Patricia Bogumil
Staff Writer
Besides volunteer firefighter availability, ongoing equipment issues at the local level need attention, noted Waterford Town Chairman Bob Langmesser.
Because hydrants are not set up at Hidden Harbor, firefighters last week had to haul the water over to the Tichigan scene in tankers, he noted.
Currently, one of Tichigan’s two water tankers is leaking and not usable, said Langmesser. The other water tanker “is getting up in years,” he said.
Monday night, the town board met in special session and unanimously approved the purchase of a 1,000 gallon 2012 Pierce Saber Extended Cab Commercial Pumper, which will replace a 1989 Pierce Pumper.
The title will be held by the Town of Waterford rather than Tichigan Fire Company, noted Langmesser.
A $40 special “Fire Protection Charge” per household appeared on tax bills last month, and raised about $100,000 toward the purchase.
Originally, the board planned to assess for a few years to gather enough funds for replacing obsolete fire equipment, Langmesser explained.
But the Pierce truck became available, fits the fire department’s needs and is being discounted. The new truck is a marketing “demonstrator” model, he explained.
The cost is $378,962, which is a discount of about $60,000, said Langmesser.
Funds will be borrowed and the amount needed will be reduced by the money raised from the $40 assessment. The truck won’t be delivered for several months, he said.
Langmesser noted that last year he made an unsuccessful bid to merge local companies from Tichigan, Waterford, Rochester and Wind Lake into one area department for better efficiencies of equipment, response and personnel.
Tichigan Fire Chief Todd Bluhm was even willing to resign in order to help put it all together, said Langmesser.
But it was a no-go.
“Nobody wanted to go along. They all wanted to stay independent,” Lanmesser said.
Langmesser said he knows that some people question whether the board supports the fire company enough; others question whether the board supports the fire company too much.
But fire equipment has to pass state inspections, he said, and running obsolete or unsound equipment is not an option.
“The bottom line is I have to do something; we just can’t keep ignoring the fire department,” Langmesser said.
“If they need equipment, somebody has to belly up and provide it,” he said, adding: “I’m mandated to provide for the health and safety of this community.”
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Didn’t we already vote down in a referendum the purchase of this truck, yet they add this 50 tax to our property tax bills now this year and for who knows how long. Idiots
$40 yearly is a small price to pay in my opinion, if my house is burning, I want water fast !
The point is that the town sent it to a referendum and the taxpayers said no! The taxpayers said that the existing equipment is more than adequate. While the pumper for example might me a 1989 model, the mileage is next to nothing given the very very very few fires we have. One pumper leaks so we buy a new one! How bout. They take better care of it and fix the leak for 1/10,000th of buying a new one. I’d like to see the wtfd post dig into this with a reporter….if you have one….who will investigate rather than simply buy at face value what they are told and then parrot it to the readers!
Didn’t we already vote down in a referendum the purchase of this truck