Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Fire and EMS on Tinian seek vehicles, training and contingency funds; some hydrants dry
Loading...
Summary
Tinian’s Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services asked the House for vehicles, training funds and repairs while describing limited ambulance capacity, dry hydrants in parts of the island and reliance on interisland shipments for medical supplies.
Raymond Dela Cruz, deputy commissioner for the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (station 16), told the House that the department operates 19 firefighters and faces equipment and vehicle shortfalls that constrain emergency response and medical transport.
Dela Cruz said DFEMS is requesting $30,000 for interisland travel so six personnel can travel to Saipan for on‑the‑job evaluation and medic sign‑offs, and $30,000 for personnel training. The department is also requesting equipment funding (materials submitted show a $75,000 equipment line) and repair and maintenance funding (materials show $100,000) to maintain vehicles and rescue equipment. Freight and handling costs for medical supplies from Saipan were listed at $10,000; Dela Cruz said there are no local vendors for many EMS supplies so the station pays shipping costs to receive supplies from Saipan.
Vehicle and ambulance capacity: Dela Cruz reported the station has one ambulance (about five years old), one 2,000‑gallon pumper and a 300‑gallon mini pumper. If the ambulance is unavailable, the department uses a pickup truck equipped with EMS gear as a backup. He said retrofitting a service truck for EMS use will cost roughly $5,000–$6,000 per truck.
Water access and hydrants: Dela Cruz told the committee that several hydrants on the island are dry and that crews sometimes must drive up to a quarter mile to refill engines; he said the department is working with the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) to address dry hydrants. Committee members asked whether using hydrants would incur charges; Dela Cruz said at present the department has not been billed.
Revolving funds and equipment support: Dela Cruz said the department maintains smaller revolving accounts — prevention (about $12,000) and EMS (about $9,000). He said procurement requests and larger equipment needs are submitted to NMHC and other grant sources; members confirmed Tinian has received turnout gear and other items through external grants in prior cycles.
Ending: Committee members asked DFEMS to continue pursuing NMHC and grant cycles for major equipment, to provide documentation for the requested vehicle purchases and repairs, and to supply reconciled revolving‑fund ledgers on request. Dela Cruz thanked members and said the department will continue readiness and training efforts.
