First Response Committee hears fire department report as station runs out of garage space; pay increase cleared for commission agenda

Mark Beeler, speaking for the fire department, told the First Response Services Committee that Brush 12 — the truck that had been wrecked and recently repaired by Blankenship — is back in service but the station has no room left indoors to store additional vehicles.

The lack of indoor parking followed Beeler’s report on equipment, calls and training and a committee vote to approve last month’s minutes. "Now that we have that truck back in the fire station, we're out of garage space," Beeler said. "I had warned you all about this a year or more ago, and, we are truly out." The committee approved the minutes of the prior meeting on a motion by David Nollner, seconded by Judy Kerr.

The report covered December 1 through May 20 and documented 59 calls in that period: eight structure fires, 10 grass fires (four of which were responses to controlled burns), two vehicle fires, two motor vehicle accidents, five gas leaks, three public assistance calls, one equipment call and 24 false alarms. Of the 59 calls, 31 were emergency and 19 nonemergency; the average response time…