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New Carlisle council approves Stryker maintenance contract, hears $360,000 estimate to staff second medic
Summary
Council approved a maintenance contract for fire and EMS equipment and heard that running a second 24/7 medic unit would cost about $360,000 a year; the fire division also named a department inspector and continues hiring.
The New Carlisle City Council on June 2 approved a premium maintenance contract with Stryker for the city’s Fire Division equipment and heard cost estimates to staff a second medic unit.
The maintenance contract covers medics’ Lifepak 15 devices, cots and load systems, power stair chairs and three Lucas devices; under the program Stryker will perform preventive maintenance twice a year and replace lithium batteries at no charge. Council approved the ordinance authorizing the Stryker contract by a 7-0 vote.
The vote follows a presentation from the fire chief, who said single-component failures can be costly: “this year alone, we had one of our Lifepaks lose a module ... that module alone ... would have been in between $8,000 to $10,000” to replace, and that a load-system track replacement would have been about $10,000. The chief listed retail replacement costs for equipment to show the scale: a Lifepak about $69,000; a cot about $23,000; load systems $35,000–$40,000; Lucas devices about $18,000 each.
Council and staff also discussed staffing and service levels. Chief Truette (New Carlisle Fire Division) said the division responded to 94 EMS calls and seven fire-related calls in May and that the department is actively recruiting firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. On staffing a second medic 24/7, the chief estimated an annual fully loaded cost of about $360,000: “two paramedics 24/7, 365 for a year is $360,000.” He further said a full-time hire (salary, benefits and retirement) runs roughly $120,000 to $130,000 per person.
Council members asked whether the city currently has the manpower to operate two medics. The chief replied that the division has hired eight people recently, including four paramedics, but that retention and available funding remain constraints. The council asked the chief to continue pursuing hires and to provide clearer budget options for staffing additional units.
Separately, the fire division announced an internal reassignment: Captain Garth Musgrove, a 10-year department member and former Air Force Reserve inspector/investigator, was named the division’s dedicated fire inspector and will conduct building and business inspections to ensure annual coverage of city businesses.
The combined actions — approving the Stryker maintenance contract and continuing recruitment — aim to limit equipment downtime and address service continuity while council weighs long-term staffing costs.
