Matt Howard (left) explains some of the features of the new fire truck to Ben Spencer while Corey Strong, Matt Browning and Lynn Howard inspect the vehicle.
A new firefighting apparatus arrived in Crothersville last week. Delivered to the Crothersville-Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department was a 2013 Freightliner Pumper-Tanker truck.
According to Crothersville-Vernon Fire Chief Lynn Howard, the truck will serve a dual purpose.
“It has a 2,000 gallon tank which when you add the 2,000 tanker truck we already have, means we can arrive on the scene of a fire with 4,000 gallons of water to fight any fire,” said Howard. “In the event of a large fire, we will still be calling Austin, Grassy Fork or Jackson-Washington for assistance but this new truck immediately gets us twice the water capacity we used to have.”
The new truck has a 2,100 gallon porta-tank from which other trucks can draft water to fight fires.
In addition the new truck has a built-in PTO driven pump that can pump up to 750 gallons of water a minute.
“That can help out on rural fires, vehicle fires and accident scenes,” said the chief. “In the event of a large fire we can have two trucks pumping water.”
A team of local firefighters-Howard, Corey Strong, Ben Spencer, Matt Browning, and Matt Howard-came up with specifications that fit the Crothersville and Vernon Township needs and began searching for a pumper-tanker to meet those needs.
Earlier this summer the local firefighters brought three proposals-from Danko Fire Equipment, Wynn Fire Equipment and Fouts Fire Equipment-to the township trustee for consideration to be purchased from the Township Cumulative Fire Equipment Fund.
The Danko Truck’s full purchase and equipped price was just under $219,000 was the one recommended by the fire department for purchase. It was also the lowest cost proposal that met the local specifications.
Because of $85,000 in saved funds along with the June property tax distribution, the purchase was financially viable.
“The township paid $90,000 down and financed the balance over six years through future property tax receipts in the cumulative fire fund,” said Township Trustee Curt Kovener. “By having accumulated save dollars and financing the local for six years, we were able to make the purchase with no property tax increase.”
The cumulative fire fund raises $33,000 a year for fire equipment and a loan through the local Peoples Bank will be paid back in January and July through 2019 at $27,000 per year.
This is the third new fire truck purchased through the township Cumulative Fire Equipment Fund in the past 10 years.
