Also announced was a $284,625 grant for the Bristol Fire Department to purchase a similar boat. The funds were distributed from the Port Security Grant Program, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.Newport’s boat is named after former Fire Chief William H. Connerton Jr.

Last year, hoping to get a new station built as quickly as possible, the Meridian Rural Fire District struck a deal with the city to pay for the first 13.5 months of operations, an estimated cost of $1.5 million.  

The original timeline for the project was estimated based on construction times from other fire stations in the valley, said Meridian Fire Division Chief Charlie Butterfield. Those fire stations were designed using a different process, where the design and build are done by the same contractor. The city’s process has taken longer, he said.

Meridian Fire Department staff are working to finalize a construction timeline and budget in the coming months, Butterfield said. A groundbreaking is expected to take place by the end of the year.

Item number two on the Public Safety Agenda cited overtime, under-staffing and over-working fire crews. It was a topic Commissioner Marion Williams asked to address. As he asked for clarity, Chief James was called to the podium to provide it, explaining to commission--there is no 'grave issue' with forced overtime.

 

The Chief said taking the OT route with the current staff costs less than hiring extra firefighters where overtime would no longer be needed. With 19 fire stations in the county, soon to be 20, there's still concern about manpower. Commissioner Williams continued to voice it.

The purchase was approved by the village board in September 2017. It was purchased from Global Emergency Products for $596,897. The village saved money buying it through the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a cooperative purchasing program.   The truck replaces a 21-year-old Smeal pumper. Grabowski told trustees the department plans for trucks to have 20-year replacement cycles. After that point, repairs become extremely costly.    The new pumper has a Detroit Diesel 500-horsepower motor, a 1,500-gallon per minute pump for hooking up to hydrants and a 750-gallon tank. Grabowski said the truck also has more than 1,000 feet of supply and attack hose in a low-level bed, making it easier for firefighters to remove. Hose can be pulled at street level rather than from the top of the truck as in older models.