Fire Department and Borough Officials Agree to Finance Extrication Equipment

Members of Borough Council and the Volunteer Fire Company appear to have reached an agreement to replace a broken down hydraulic extrication tool.

The equipment, which is used to cut vehicles open and allow emergency responders to remove trapped vehicle crash victims, has been out of service for about a month. The department is currently using a loaner tool, but Mayor Harry Robbins said during the council's Sept. 6 meeting that the borough should be able to purchase a $9,300 refurbished unit with a lifetime warranty after Nov. 1 when transfers between department funds are allowed. 

"I don't know how much we're going to have to transfer, but the fire department has some fundraising money that they can chip in," Robbins said. 

The department's more than 20-year-old unit went out of service because of a broken electric motor. At the August council meeting, it was discussed that the motor could be repaired for about $625, but after hearing from fire department officials it was decided that purchasing the $9,3000 refurbished unit is the better option. 

"Putting the motor back on it is putting a band-aid on at best," council President James Davis said in August. 

"With the newer cars being built, the older equipment isn't going to be satisfactory to them," council member Steven Oglesby said in August. "The chief and the assistant chief feel that the $600 repair is not adequate." 

Additionally, Assistant Chief Greg Morris said that various other portions of the extrication tool are aging, and while not broken down yet, they are in danger of failing.

"It's going to cost more money in the long run," he said during a public comment portion of the August meeting. 

The department typically uses the equipment to perform about 2 or 3 extrications each year, according to the council. 

Resident Dona Sinton asked the council last month why the money was not appropriated in the $400,000 maintenance bond approved on Sept. 6. Council member Glenn McComas said that the borough had not received a request from the fire department in time to include in the bond and could not alter it prior to the vote. 

A flier circulating on Facebook last week urged residents to contact council members to ask them to finance the extrication equipment. But on Sept. 6, the morning of the council meeting, a message posted to the fire department's Facebook page thanked Robbins and the Safety Committee for finding a solution. 

"Thanks to their due diligence and looking into the matter, the issue is now resolved," the message reads.