By Jordyn Grzelewski

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

The township fire department has entered into an automatic mutual-aid agreement with the Cardinal Joint Fire District of Canfield beginning Feb. 1, a first for the department, Fire Chief Mark Pitzer reported to the board of trustees.

“This is the first automatic agreement we’ve ever had in Boardman Township. ... This is a big deal,” Pitzer said at Monday’s board meeting.

Now, whenever firefighters in one community are dispatched for a structure fire, a truck from the other department will automatically be dispatched to the scene. The neighboring department also will send off-duty firefighters to the scene with a second truck.

The goal of the agreement is to keep firefighters safe, Pitzer said.

“The key is getting that first truck,” he said. “We have no way to rescue our own.”

In many cases, when firefighters enter a structure, there are no safety precautions outside of the building in case something happens to one of them. This way, the truck from the other department will be there to respond if necessary, Pitzer said.

The Cardinal Joint Fire District serves the city of Canfield and Canfield Township.

The board also voted to approve an insurance settlement offer of $471,702 to replace a firetruck that was totaled in an accident in November. The settlement should cover the cost of a new truck, Pitzer said.

In other business, road Superintendent Larry Wilson reported the township is in “good shape” with its road-salt supply for the remainder of winter.

Out of the approximately 6,000 tons the township started out with for the winter, about 4,500 tons remain, Wilson said. He said if snowfall keeps up the same pace for the rest of winter, there will not be any issues with the supply.

The board voted to deny a new liquor permit request for Dolgen Midwest LLC on behalf of Dollar General Store, located at 4996 Market St. The applicant’s request will require a ballot initiative.

Trustees also authorized an agreement for the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office to serve as the township’s law director this year at a cost of $75,000.