Voters approved $618,000 to fund design services to start the construction process of a new addition to the 50-year-old fire station, thegardnernews.com reported. The debt exclusion vote passed by a margin of 143-92, and as a result, the cost of the borrowing will be excluded from the calculations of the tax levy increase each year.

The tax bill for an average Winchendon house valued at $280,000 is expected to rise by $33.80 annually as a result of the approval, the report said.

Town officials plan to hire Schwartz/Silver Architects, Inc. for the architectural drawings of the new fire station addition. The estimated cost of the construction is $8.5 million, the report said.

The current fire station was built in 1977 with space for one full-time firefighter but the team has quadrupled in size throughout the years, the report said. The department needs three to four on-duty firefighters to provide ambulance and fire services for the community, but there isn’t enough space in the station for four firefighters to comfortably complete a shift.

The new station will have enough space for the staff to have a designated decontamination area. Another health improvement feature will be a diesel exhaust emission system that captures and vents out any diesel particles that would otherwise reduce the air quality for the staff, the report said.

There is not enough garage and storage space currently to keep all fire apparatus inside and operational. With the new fire station, all apparatus will be kept inside, which means all the trucks will remain in service year-round, a fire official said in the report.

The dire needs and lack of funding at rural emergency response companies caught the attention of a South Dakota organization that formed seven years ago to financially help families of fallen first responders, law enforcement officers and military soldiers, MitchellRepublic.com reported. After learning of the challenges volunteer fire departments are up against, an organization called South Dakota Salutes developed a special needs fund to provide them with updated equipment and protective gear.

On Thursday, leaders of South Dakota Salutes trekked to Fedora to donate a pair of checks to the Fedora and Woonsocket volunteer fire departments, giving them funds to update critical equipment to enhance their ability to respond to fires and emergencies. Woonsocket received $2,500, while Fedora got $5,000, the report said.

The donations from South Dakota Salutes provided SBCA breathing air cylinder bottles that are vital in taking on fires, according to the report.

The 44-member West Point Fire Department has requested over $1.7 million for new equipment, but Army headquarters only funded the unit for $96,000, MidHudsonNews.com reported.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer was at the military academy calling for Washington to approve the rest of the money so that new, modern equipment can be purchased, the report said.

Connor Miller, president of Local F-7 of the International Association of Firefighters, said it is difficult to operate with their current budget, according to the report.

With one of its fire trucks out of service, the West Point department has borrowed a truck from the Veterans Administration, the report said.

The West Point department is often called out under mutual aid to assist neighboring communities and sometimes asked to drive over Storm King Mountain to assist the City of Newburgh Fire Department, the report said.

Alia Malik
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(TNS)

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a sole-source contract of $5.7 million with Stryker Sales Corp. for equipment that will go in the county’s ambulances.

The initial term of the contract costs almost $1.4 million and runs through the end of this year, but it can be renewed annually for a total of three years, according to county documents.

The equipment to be purchased includes power stretchers and systems to safely load and carry patients to and from ambulances, Fire Chief Russell Knick told commissioners. The contract also covers chairs to carry patients up and down stairs and automated mechanical chest compression equipment for patients in cardiac arrest.

“That device actually allows our staff to be able to continue high quality CPR even when you’re moving patients, frees up hands for IV use, push medications and things like that,” Knick said.

The contract also includes a service agreement and preventative maintenance for all the equipment, he said.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has 51 front-line and reserve medical vehicles, according to the sole-source approval forms. The department has 48 Stryker stair chairs in its transport and rescue units and 47 power stretchers. The sole-source contract allows the department to standardize the equipment that firefighters train on, according to purchasing staff.

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