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Boardman trustees approve purchase of fire equipment
BOARDMAN
Township trustees approved the purchase of two pieces of equipment for the fire department.
Fire Chief George Brown recommended the trustees buy a thermal-imaging camera and charging system from Warren Fire Equipment at $8,865 to replace one of the three current cameras, which the chief said are outdated.
“With the thermal-image camera, we can go inside a smoke-filled structure and find if there’s a body for example,” Brown said at Monday’s trustee board session. “It helps with searching.”
The second piece of equipment is a lift bag set that costs $6,820 from Finley Fire Equipment, which will be used to lift vehicles in emergencies.
“We have a high number of motor vehicle crashes and it will be combined to add to our lifting capabilities,” Brown said.
Both pieces of equipment are expected to have a minimum 10-year lifespan, he added.
“We were restricting purchases, and this should have been done a while back,” Trustee Larry Moliterno said.
The fire chief also announced the Kiwanis Club of Boardman donated 60 smoke detectors to the department. They will be given to children at Market Street Elementary.
Fire officials are working with the school’s principal to identify children who need them. Brown said other volunteers are collaborating with the department to get more donated. The goal is to ensure no child in Boardman goes to a home “without a working smoke detector.”
In other business, Anna Mamone, zoning inspector, said that 403 properties are on the township’s nuisance list as of Monday. In 2010, the nuisance properties peaked at about 360.
“It’s the most we’ve ever had,” Mamone said.
Some nuisance properties have been addressed. The former Inglis Greenhouse on Southern Boulevard has been demolished and only a residential structure remains on the property. The owners have planned to tear down that building, too.
The former tanning salon Sun Heaven on the corner of Market Street and Clifton Drive, which is vacant, has been sold and will be redeveloped into a new sandwich shop, she added.