By DREW MENTOCK

Special to the Daily Star

 

BERTRAND TOWNSHIP — Bertrand Township and its fire department are hosting an event for residents to come check out the recent half-a-million-dollar purchase.

Residents of Bertrand Township are invited from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 to an open house at the township hall featuring the fire department’s brand new fire truck that cost just over $473,000.

In addition to showcasing the new fire truck, the open house will have a bouncy house and an entertainer for children. Pulled pork will be served, and, weather permitting, a MedFlight helicopter will be dropping by.

This open house is Bertrand Township residents’ first chance to see what will be helping to protect them for years to come, because according to Knisley, “when you buy a truck like this it’s a 25- to 30-year investment.”

The fire department’s purchase was made in partnership with Bertrand Township, who paid $196,901 of the total cost for the truck.

The rest was paid for by the fire department. By paying for the new truck in full upfront, the township and fire department saved approximately $17,000 on the vehicle.

Some township residents voiced concerns about the purchase of the fire truck, but fire department Chief Bill Knisley reassures constituents that this is not a frivolous purchase.

“We are not going to live outside of our means. We have a respect for our board and our township residents,” said Knisley who has been chief of the fire department for eight years. “And we are cost efficient for everything we do.”

The National Fire Protection Agency recommends that a fire truck be replaced after 20 years of service. The old truck has been active for 29 years. Knisley expects to get between $30,000 and $40,000 for the old truck, and will put it up for sale once new truck is in service, which should be by the end of September.

In addition to complying with the NFPA safety standards, the new truck also has features that will be advantageous to the township’s firefighters and the community, the chief said.

Features include the fact that it holds 200 gallons of water more than the previous truck, with up-to-date equipment, better lighting and significantly more storage space. Knisley also said the truck is safer to ride in.

The new truck also can draw water from the front, making it more accessible to houses and other buildings with long driveways. This allows the truck to better obtain water from another pumper truck or a tanker truck, which is a fire truck built to carry and transport larger volumes of water.

Knisley said this is especially important for a fire department located outside of town.

“Being in a rural area, we don’t have much access to hydrants,” said Chris Burks, who is a captain at the fire department and has been a member of the department for 20 years. “So we draft from Dayton Lake, swimming pools, creeks, ponds, and wherever we may have to get our water.”

The new truck was fabricated in South Haven by Spencer Manufacturing, Inc., who specializes in creating fire and rescue vehicles.

Once in service, the new truck will be used to go out on the 100 to 120 calls the fire department gets per year. About 25-30 of those calls are usually fires.