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Fire department feeling pinch
News-Herald, November 27, 2009 by Nick Carrabine
Running a fire department has never been more challenging, local officials say.
With significant fire equipment costing six to seven figures and departments facing decreasing budgets and increasing costs, most area departments are feeling the pinch.
Painesville Fire Department recently put in a request to purchase a new non-emergency vehicle as well as thermal imagery equipment, but the proposals were shot down, Fire Chief Mark Mlachak said.
"If we can't replace some of the older items, it increases the maintenance costs to keep those things in service," he said. "We just don't have the money to make big-dollar purchases."
While none of the local fire departments know their budgets for 2010, they pretty much know what to expect.
Most departments received a decrease from the 2008 to 2009 budgets and area fire chiefs expect that trend to continue.
Euclid Fire Department also is looking to purchase a few new fire trucks, but Chief Tom Cosgriff isn't holding his breath.
"We do have some fire trucks that I believe we need replaced but haven't yet, and the problem is fire trucks are ridiculously expensive," he said, adding an engine truck is about $500,000 and a ladder truck is close to $1 million.
"It's been tough to replace and that is due to budget. I'm hoping to replace an engine in 2010 and ladder truck in 2011, but that all depends on the budget."
Mentor Fire Chief Richard Harvey said they've cut back on replacing items such as hoses and gear.
"We don't have as much revenue as we've had in the past," he said. "Everyone, all my colleagues, are going through the same thing. It's a difficult time right now."
He said the fact that departments are feeling the pinch doesn't result in a poorer performance.
"People are still getting great care," he said. "The people aren't being neglected. I'm not crying the blues."
Many departments are looking to apply for federal grants while others are seeking levies.
Eastlake Fire Chief Ted Whittington said he can't thank the citizens of Eastlake enough for recently approving the city's 0.5-mill renewal fire levy.
The fire department plans to use the money to replace a rescue squad, a 24-year-old fire engine and a 20-year-old police and fire investigation vehicle. The levy also will pay for repairs to the 51-year-old fire station, add to the traffic light pre-emption system and replace firefighting gear.
On Monday, the department received a new ambulance.
"We are very lucky," Whittington said. "We've been very fortunate that our community supports us. This really lets us be proactive with purchasing equipment."
No matter how much funding the fire departments receive nowadays, it still might be a struggle to operate a department, Cosgriff said.
"I don't think there is a city in Northeast Ohio that couldn't use more funding," he said. "We apply for every single federal grant that is available, but the problem is, grant funding has decreased too.
"It's tough to run a fire department nowadays."
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