Charlotte Caldwell
The Lima News, Ohio
(TNS)

Oct. 7—LIMA — Retired Lima Fire Chief Andy Heffner and new Chief Jack McDermitt spoke to the Lima Rotary Club on Monday about recent changes at the fire department and what the department is trying to get moving forward, such as a new fire station.

McDermitt said planning for a new fire station is in the “infancy stages” with a study from the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association incoming to help decide where it should be located and how to start the project.

“The big reason behind that is our newest station is Central, and it was built in 1975,” McDermitt said. “We have three females working with us right now, and honestly, the locker room we have at Central, that’s about as much as that locker room can take. It was designed for one person.”

“With a new station, we want to remodel Central, completely overhaul it, so we have the facilities to move forward,” McDermitt said.

“They had three vehicles in that station,” Heffner added about Central Station when it was built. “They are now sitting at somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 vehicles in there and two boats, a rescue trailer, so it’s packed to the gills, so it’s definitely a need because the job has changed. It used to be putting out fires. That’s not the case anymore.”

The increase in the department’s calls for service also shows the need to expand. McDermitt said the department saw around 1,500 calls per year when he started, and now every year they have over 6,000 calls.

Another project in the works is getting equipment to help firefighters in confined spaces. McDermitt said the equipment would be available for every department in Allen County to use.

“Another thing chief (Heffner) started was trench rescue in a confined space. Our utility guys are in trenches, confined spaces every day. We have no equipment to help if something goes wrong,” McDermitt said.

McDermitt discussed a recent addition to the department that will make the job more efficient.

“This week we launched a new software that Chief Heffner helped spearhead. It’ll be all-encompassing — it will be for our reports; our scheduling that we do on Post-it notes and Excel spreadsheets right now; to our inventory,” McDermitt said.

One challenge the department is experiencing is a lot of retirements, which brings down the experience level. McDermitt said four personnel will retire in the first quarter of 2025.

“Our average years of service went from almost 20 years of service in the last two years down to about eight,” McDermitt said.

Another staffing challenge comes from getting people to stay at the department instead of switching departments for a pay increase. McDermitt said they offer training and specialized teams to try to keep personnel.

“The last three years we’re experiencing something that we’ve never experienced in the fire service. When me and Andy started, you started someplace, you finished your career there. Now everybody’s jumping around. We’re competing with the suburbs of Columbus, and we can’t. They’re paying six figures; we can’t do that,” McDermitt said.

McDermitt said they face a challenge with getting young people interested in the profession, and Heffner added some people have never experienced the conditions firefighters experience.

“Most of the young people today have grown up in 72 degrees. Winter, summer, spring, fall, it’s 72 degrees. When you’re a firefighter, it’s hot, it’s dirty, it’s dangerous, so you’re uncomfortable. A lot of people today have not been uncomfortable,&

Read the features and news on fire trucks and fire equipment from the October 2024 issue of Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine.

Audrey Korte
The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc.
(TNS)

Oct. 8—Stepping onto the manufacturing floor of W.S. Darley and Co. in Chippewa Falls bombards the senses as machines hum and tools whir and purr under their master’s grip.

The fluorescent lights throw glints off of the metal and bronze components as the smell of paint lingers in the air. Staff, machines and robots move with precision among rows of tools and parts that decorate the space.

“Watch your step,” Carmon Bonn, Sr. Human Resources & Safety Director says as she adjusts her safety glasses. “Safety first.”

Bonn took The Chippewa Herald on a tour of the W.S. Darley and Co. facility in Chippewa Falls on Thursday alongside Plant Manager Mike Severson, and Sr. Manufacturing & Systems Engineering Manager Amanda Normand.

“We really have some impressive machines here,” Normand said. “But I might be a little biased.”

The facility specializes in manufacturing fire pumps, with a team of skilled machinists and engineers. The company originated in Chippewa Falls and has since grown into an international supplier for first responders, U.S. military forces and allied nations with a multitude of pumps, systems and vehicles.

Different environments demand different materials and equipment.

The company, which is now headquartered in Illinois, manufactures portable gasoline powered pumps, diesel, engine and hydraulic driven pumps, various mounted pumps, marine pumps and Ohler pumps, to name a few.

The manufacturer also makes the valves, impellers, seals and all the other components necessary for the equipment to operate appropriately.

Darley’s Chippewa Falls facility recently conducted a pump school with the Bureau of Land Management and is preparing for another this week.

“The goal of our team here in Chippewa Falls is to save lives and we take it seriously,” said Vice President of Pump Manufacturing Operations Greg Field.

Differentiating Darley from competitors

While Darley’s competitors are reputable, Darley stands out due to its founder’s drive to understand customer needs, Field said.

The company supports small truck builders and offers price breaks to help them get started.

Its focus is on making a difference rather than just making money, which resonates with customers and the community. Darley’s commitment to social responsibility is a key component of its business philosophy.

Field shared an example of a critical situation in which the company worked around the clock to produce and ship a necessary pump in just days for a firefighting outfit.

“We had a forest fire a couple years ago out West, and there was a team up in the mountains, and they’d been running their pumps non-stop, and they finally kind of wore out,” Field said. “We got a call from the fire chief on top of the mountain with his satellite phone, and he’s like, ‘I need another pump.'”

The call came in on a Friday afternoon but the team stuck around and manufactured the needed components before testing it and shipping it out Sunday night.

“Then it gets to the airport destination, and then the helicopter picks it up and takes it up the mountains and drops it off,” Field said. “That’s what we do. That’s what we live for. That’s what we’re built for.”

He emphasized the importance of being nimble and responsive to customer needs, especially in life-saving situations.

Field said that being part of such a large and reputable company comes in handy especially during disaster outrea

Northborough is one step closer to getting a new fire station after a Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 7, communityadvocate.com reported.

After presentations and debate, an article authorizing the appropriation of $41.3 million was approved by a vote of 431 to 144, the report said. 

With this vote, the project will be on the ballot on Nov. 5 for a debt exclusion vote. 

The appropriation of $41.4 million is before the estimated $1.9 million in energy rebates, according to the report. Within the appropriation, the department is projecting a budget of $33.4 million for construction; $905,000 for furnishings, fixtures and equipment; $6.8 million for fees and expenses; and $3.7 million for contingency. 

The current station, which was designed in 1974 when there were two people on duty, has physical limitations, the report said. There are two bedrooms and no separation by gender. The kitchen isn’t large; vehicles have gotten bigger; and one room houses the gym, training room, storage room and meeting room, according to the report.

The first floor of the new station would be 21,500 gross square feet and support a “clean station” concept, and the second floor would be 9,350 gross square feet, the report said.

For more information, please go to the Northborough Fire Station Project.