GREENFIELD TOWNSHIP- Fire departments facing limited staffing and financial constraints are finding ways to their stretch their manpower and budget dollars through new equipment, according to local fire chiefs. Greenfield Township Fire Department recently purchased two pieces of equipment totaling nearly $600,000 to help accommodate its four-person crew.
Greenfield Township Fire Department recently purchased two pieces of equipment totaling nearly $600,000 to help accommodate its four-person crew.
The largest purchase was a combination rescue truck/fire engine, which the township purchased through a three-year tax levy. The combination truck cost about $558,000, which is significantly more than what a standard fire engine would have cost the township. The department's last fire engine is about 20 years old and cost $164,000 at the time. The station's current rescue truck, which the combination truck will also be replacing, is 16 years old.
Greenfield Township Chief Terry Morris Sr. said it was time for the department to replace aging equipment, and it was an opportunity to purchase something better that fit its needs.
Whether it's a medical call, fire or crash, multiple emergency response vehicles are called to every scene. And, with a four-person crew, not all three pieces of equipment — engine, rescue truck and medic — can leave the station at one time.
"The biggest thing is the manpower," Morris said. "We would normally have to wait on mutual aid (for a rescue truck). If you need rescue tools, it's because you're trying to save someone. (The new combination truck) is everything we need on one truck."