Audrey Korte
The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc.
(TNS)
Sep. 25—Chippewa Falls has beefed up its rosters of first responders and purchased new life-saving equipment for city residents as the area experiences rapid growth while grappling with the recent closures of two hospitals and multiple health clinics.
Since it began operations in 1990, the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services Department has reported a more than 500% increase in calls. In the last 10 months the department has faced numerous challenges as its closest hospital, HSHS St. Joseph’s, closed.
To handle the call increases and increased transport distance to hospitals, the city purchased a new fire truck and ambulance and is in the process of updating other ambulances in circulation.
Fire Chief Jason Thom said the new $800,000 fire truck should “tentatively be ready by the end of October.”
“The price we’ve been looking for over the last few years did not happen,” Thom said. “We’ve been, you know, talking about it and every year, the price keeps going up. So it’s one of those things, at some point you have to do it.”
Fire trucks typically have about a 20 to 25 year lifespan. The new truck will replace a 1992 engine.
“I think it’s our goal, our continued goal to make sure that our equipment meets the needs of the community. Some of these fire trucks are suddenly 30 years old, so it’s time to replace them,” Mayor Greg Hoffman said Tuesday.
The new truck will have a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump, Thom said.
“It’s going to be comparable to the truck we’re replacing, other than, it’s obviously considerably newer,” he said. “So, you know, a lot more technology on it; a safer piece of equipment to be operating down the road.”
The 1992 truck will be taken out of circulation once the new one arrives. The department will continue using its 2002 and 2009 fire engines as well.
Thom said the truck features a Darley pump, but was not manufactured by the local company.
Darley is a manufacturer and supplier of pumps for use with firefighting and many other applications with manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations in Chippewa Falls.
The city is also getting a new ambulance, which is being built now.
“We’re hopefully going to take delivery of a new ambulance here within the next month,” Thom said Sept. 19. “And then we have two more ambulances slated for next year. One is the referendum ambulance, and then the other one is another remount.”
By year’s end the department will have five ambulances.
First responder referendum
These new vehicles and updates to existing ones are an indication of the city’s commitment to safety and its support for first responders, officials say. Chippewa Falls residents approved a $1.3 million first responder referendum in November 2022.
Taxpayers agreed to exceed the levy limit by $1.2 million per year starting in January 2023 so the city could hire three additional firefighters and emergency services personnel and one additional swing shift police officer.
The money has also provided funding for a pay bump for current first responders.
The ambulance upgrades are part of the city’s vehicle replacement plan, Thom said.
“They’ll take our ambulance, they take the box off. They completely redo it, put all new components in it, new paint and set it on a brand new chassis,” Thom said.
Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said the city is doing what it can to help the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services Department