Gunnison Valley Fire Department asks Mayfield to resume a $5,000 annual contribution to save for breathing-air cylinders

Jed Henson, fire chief of the Gunnison Valley Fire Department, told the Mayfield Town Council on June 11 that the department is asking participating towns to resume or increase annual contributions so it can build a reserve for an equipment replacement that federal safety standards make unavoidable.

“We are requesting to raise our budget this year $5,000,” Henson said. “The reason for the $5,000 ... the SCBA — the cylinder has a 15‑year lifespan, and at 15 years it cannot be recertified again. Right now to purchase one of those cylinders you’re right close to $2,000 a cylinder.”

Henson said the department is asking Mayfield to contribute $800 of that request this year; the additional funds would go to a Public Treasurer’s Investment Fund (PTIF) account to accumulate until the large replacement need arises. He estimated replacing the cylinders across the department’s packs would cost roughly $70,000 today.

Henson framed the request as a proactive, multi‑year savings plan rather than immediate spending. “That $5,000 we’re asking for is to get it going to PTIF fund to build up. So when we hit that 15 years, which will be 10 more years from now, we will be better prepared to make that purchase without coming into communities and saying, ‘Hey, we have to have $75,000.’”

The chief explained why the expense cannot be deferred indefinitely: federal and national fire safety standards limit the recertification life of SCBA cylinders and set annual and five‑year inspection and testing requirements. Other turnout and protective gear has its own life cycle, he said, and while some items can be extended at a chief’s discretion, the cylinders are non‑recertifiable after 15 years.

Henson also reviewed the scope of the district the department serves and funding sources. He said the district covers roughly 500 square miles and receives just over $11,000 annually from the county. The department relies on mutual aid revenue from wildland firefighting and federal/state reimbursements but still needs predictable local contributions to plan for big capital replacements.

Council members and residents asked about other ways to reduce costs and whether surplus apparatus could be transferred. Henson confirmed the district periodically reallocates older trucks to smaller departments; surplus units typically sell for modest amounts and sometimes are donated. He cautioned, however, that accepting a surplus engine or brush truck would still require Mayfield to provide heated storage, trained personnel, breathing apparatus, and ongoing maintenance costs. “If it’s just sitting there with no people to run it and no equipment around it, it’s not serving anything,” he said.

Henson described the Gunnison department as all‑volunteer, with a majority of members certified to firefighting standards and several personnel hazmat certified. He said the district is pursuing additional equipment purchases this year — including a type‑1 engine and brush trucks funded partly by the district and county — and is trying to avoid repeatedly asking small towns for emergency funding by creating this PTIF reserve.

For now, the Mayfield staff said the $800 request is accounted for in the proposed budget; no separate emergency appropriation was required at the hearing. Council and staff indicated they would continue to discuss long‑term options, including district governance, facility needs in Mayfield, and ways to spread the cost across the district’s communities.

Ending

The council did not take an isolated vote specifically to add additional funds that night beyond the amount already reflected in its proposed budget; the department’s request was presented during the budget public hearing and will be considered as part of the adopted fiscal plan and ongoing interlocal discussions.