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Miami County fire officials seek earlier air-compressor purchase; volunteers strained by heavy spring fire season
Summary
Fire coordinator Mark Whalen asked commissioners to waive bidding and approve a $56,146.54 air-compressor purchase for the Dishawatomi station; county fire officials also reported a surge in grass- and structure-fire activity, volunteer workload and staffing gaps in specialty rescue teams.
An earlier-than-planned purchase of a new air compressor for the Dishawatomi fire station and continued strain on volunteer fire resources were among topics presented to the Miami County Board of Commissioners at their July 30 study session. Mark Whalen, the county’s fire coordinator, told commissioners the Dishawatomi compressor was originally scheduled for replacement in 2027 under a 50/50 cost split with the city, but the city asked to buy sooner because of shared special pricing. "We'd like to go ahead and waive the bid process on this compressor also," Whalen said, and gave a total price of $56,146.54, with the fire district's share at $28,073.27. The request was listed as action item No. 1 for the afternoon agenda. Why it matters: Commissioners were also shown statistics that described an unusually heavy…
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