Mineral Ridge gets new $142K fire, rescue truck

May 17, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

MINERAL RIDGE

Fire Chief Randy Pugh demonstrated to Weathersfield Township trustees this week a new rescue and brush truck, Rescue 42, that the township received with a $118,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.

Cost of the vehicle is $142,000, and the township will pay the remaining $23,500. The Ford 2013 F-550 pick-up truck is specially equipped with a rescue body on the back, water and foam and vehicle-extrication tools.

He said the passage of a 2.5-mill fire levy on May 7 will mean the department “will be OK for a long time.”

Pugh said he was very happy residents approved the levy, which will generate $346,811 annually. It will replace three older levies that had generated $170,937 a year. The new levy will raise $175,874 more than the three other continuous levies.

The department has also learned it will receive another FEMA grant for $52,000 for a new air compressor to fill firefighter’s oxygen tanks.

Trustees approved a contract with the Trumbull County 911 Center to provide dispatch services for fire and police dispatching effective July 1. The township will pay $4.25 per call to start with and once there is enough data Niles will provide a yearly rate.

The township has been having 911 calls dispatched from Niles, and expects to save about $30,000 annually with the change.

Also, trustees said they have entered into an agreement with Niles for sweeping curbed streets and major intersections. There is no set cost for the service yet, but the township will be buying new brushes for Niles and has already provided it with other equipment.