The board on Monday also heard about talks to combine Baroda’s fire department with the Bridgman and Lake Township fire departments, bringing the idea of buying a new truck into question. But Fire Chief Larry Klug said if a merger does happen, it won’t take effect for some years.

It’s advantageous to buy the truck now, because the price will get more expensive due to the rising cost of steel, Klug said.

The new truck will have a fully enclosed cab, a bigger pump, and tanks that hold 1,800 gallons of water, as compared to 1,100 for the current truck, according to Klug. Delivery will be in 2020, he continued.

Recently, the foundation donated $10,000 for fire prevention efforts including the purchase of 500 disaster preparedness starter kits to be given away for free to the public. The kits include emergency blankets, breathing masks, a refillable water bottle, flashlight, and more. Residents who would like a disaster preparedness starter kit can pick one up Saturday, April 20 at the Pocatello Fire Department’s Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair booth while supplies last. The fair is located at Caldwell Park and is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

“We encourage everyone to take the initiative and prepare long before the threat of a wildland fire,” said Kim Stouse, Community Relations/Education Specialist with the Pocatello Fire Department. “You can be ready by assembling emergency supplies and belongings in a safe place, creating defensible space by clearing brush and debris away from your home, as well as planning escape routes and making sure all those residing within the home know the plan.”

The department is donating a fire truck after the only station on Madeline Island was destroyed in March.   

La Pointe Fire Department had to rely on neighboring stations for help after losing all of their vehicles and equipment. The Fire Chief at Port Washington is changing that. He says it was a 1988 fire the department endured that caused him to act. 

Farmingdale Fire Chief Dana Mealey said the groundbreaking was a day he thought he would never see, even though he has served on the department for four decades.  

The road to the new station began in earnest in 2017, when voters approved up to $1 million in funding for a new station. That funding was never secured, however, because it was insufficient to cover the cost of bids received in September 2018. Those bids — all of which were rejected in October 2018 — ranged from $1,543,000 to $1,776,651. Selectman and engineers said skyrocketing material prices were to blame for the high bids.

The vehicle, named “Squad 4,” will become the first vehicle firefighters take to any call, Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Witzell said. “We will equip it to handle everything,” he added.

The $247,670 vehicle has a 2018 Ford F-550 truck chassis with a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump and a 300-gallon water capacity.