Fire officials showed off new equipment at Monday night’s meeting of the Jerome Township Board of Trustees. The trustees took a 15-minute break during the meeting to look through and examine the department’s new engine and grass fighter. Above, trustees Ron Rhodes, left, and Joe Craft, right, examine the engine.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Mac Cordell)
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The Jerome Township Fire Department is making moves for the future.
At Monday night’s meeting of township trustees, Fire Chief Doug Stewart showed off a new engine and grass fighter.
“Without support from the residents, without your support, we wouldn’t have this or the department we have today,” Stewart told the trustees.
The trucks were paid for by using voter-approved fire levy funds. The township spent $585,000 for the truck and $30,000 for new equipment to outfit the engine.
“We did utilize a bunch of the current equipment to outfit the truck,” Stewart said.
He said members of the fire department are training with the Marysville Division of Fire because Marysville has a very similar truck. He said the truck will be in service in about two weeks.
The grass truck cost $40,000.
“We utilized the existing tank and pump from the old truck,” Stewart said.
He explained that an older truck will now be sold to Sutphen, a fire truck manufacturer that will sell it to another department.
The trustees also approved more than $47,000 for a power cot to be installed in the department’s ambulance. The Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation will reimburse $21,240 of the cost as part of a grant. Stewart said the cot will lift up to 700 pounds. He said the BWC has started helping with the cost of the power cots because paramedics and emergency medical technicians were suffering back injuries from lifting patients.
Stewart also reported Insurance Service Office (ISO) will be in the township next week. The ISO is a for-profit organization that provides statistical information on risk and rates most fire departments. The ISO issues ratings from 10-1, with a 1 being the best.
He said the township has two ratings, a 5 in areas with Marysville water service and a 9 in the rural areas without water service.
The last evaluation in Jerome Township was more than 10 years ago. Stewart said the ISO evaluation was something he identified as a goal when he began.
He said the department will learn from this evaluation, “so when they come back in two years, we can get a lower rating.”
Stewart said he believes the township can get to a 1 rating in areas with fire hydrants.
Lower ratings can help property owners with home insurance.
The department is working to fill part-time firefighter openings. Stewart said the department received 11 applications.
“We are working through the process and scheduling interviews yet this month,” Stewart said, adding he hopes to have positions filled by “early summer.”
While Stewart is planning for the future, so are the trustees. With the season’s final snow still fresh in their memories, the Jerome Township trustees are already planning for next winter.
“I think we better order plenty of (salt) for this year,” said township trustee Ron Rhodes.
He recommended ordering about 400 tons of salt. Township Zoning Officer Mark Spagnuolo recommended 450. He said the community is growing rapidly and the township is responsible for plowing many of the new roads and streets that come as a result of the growth.
Officials said the township used about 370 tons of salt this year and has about 70 tons remaining in the barn, though they did need to buy additional salt midway through the season.
Rhodes said it is better to prepare for a difficult winter and have too much salt rather than not enough. He said one year, the township “got stuck” and was forced to pay about $100 per ton.
Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell said the resolution did not include pricing. Rhodes said last season the township paid about $67.50 per ton. The trustees voted to appropriate $31,500 for 450 tons at $70 per ton.