Joseph
firefighters will find addresses more quickly with GPS units being purchased
for their fleet by Wallowa Lake Rural Fire Protection District.
District directors voted Monday,
Sept. 16, to equip Joseph Fire Department engines, water tenders and its rescue
unit with Garmin GPS units.
“Lake homeowners will benefit
because our Joseph firefighters will be more effective responding to lake fire
calls,” Board President Chuck Anderson said.
The purchase totals $1,400
including lifetime mapping updates. The district had allocated funds for the
purchase during public budget discussions in June.
Also approved by directors was a
system to begin replacing firefighting “turnout” suits for Joseph firefighters
who respond from the lake fire station.
The board agreed to fund a full
single set of turnouts for $2,600. The district plans to buy a turnout set each
year until all lake responders’ turnouts are replaced, Anderson said. At the
board’s suggstion, Anderson agreed to seek grant support for the longterm
project.
Joseph turnouts in use today
were purchased in 2005 and are rated for a maximum of 10 years before they lose
their fire-resistant qualities, according to lake Fire Chief Jeffrey Wecks.
The purchases are part of a
continuing effort to support Joseph Fire with equipment that it can’t otherwise
afford, Anderson said.
Board members also agreed to
install a permanent air compressor in the station with plumbing to each of the
station’s three apparatus bays to maintain air-brake capacity in parked
vehicles so they are fully capable of responding. Most fire stations in the U.S.
have such a system.
The board assigned Wecks to
install the system for $1,500 after other estimates were much higher.
Currently, a portable compressor
is connected to the engine in the lake station. Directors agreed during budget
discussions that the permanent system is needed because Joseph expects to
station a wildland engine in the station soon and the station eventually could
maintain a third vehicle.
In other action, the board
reviewed Wecks’ performance as fire chief after his first 10 months and agreed
to maintain his agreement as the district’s chief. “We agreed that he has done
a great job for us,” Anderson said.
Good to install a permanent air compressor in the station with plumbing to each of the station’s three apparatus bays to maintain air-brake capacity in parked vehicles so they are fully capable of responding.
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