By Patty Leon

Walthourville Interim Fire Chief John Pittman spoke to Mayor Larry Baker and council Nov. 11, about the fragile state of the city’s fire department.

Pittman reiterated the need for additional personnel he requested at a previous meeting but also said the department is in immediate need of a fire engine. The city is down to one working fire engine that Pittman said is from 2011. The other engine, from 1994, is now out of commission for good.

He said the city needed to address the issues immediately or risk losing the department entirely. Pittman said a recent fire at a junkyard within city limits pushed his department to its limits.

“We had a fire last week that not only put our personnel to the test, but our equipment and our response time,” he said.

The junkyard fire took six hours to put out and placed firefighters in the middle of several hazards, including explosions and hazardous materials. The fire also threatened the wood line nearby.

“The first mutual aid that was supposed to back us up was on another call, so they could not respond,” Pittman said. “So, we had to go to a secondary mutual aid, but they were a few minutes out. I also had two firefighters that were responding but they were also a few minutes out. I had two firefighters on this junkyard fire, just two of them. One was running the pump and in command, the other was running the hose by herself, which put her in danger. It took 15 to 20 minutes before the first help arrived.”

Pittman said once relieved, the firefighter had to be placed into the ambulance, suffering from near heat exhaustion and elevated heart rate.

“It is dangerous for our personnel to be by themselves on the line,” he said, adding it was also against state policies.

“I need a third person,” he said. “It is a safety issue.”

He asked the council to consider adding a third person immediately so he could finish off the year with the personnel he needs.

Mayor Baker told council something needs to be done and reminded them that being short-staffed also meant no one was available to cover other calls. Pittman said an emergency call had come in and he had to cover that medical call before heading out to the fire.

Council member Charlie Anderson agreed that the city needed to do something or it will lose its department. He added the station can’t function properly with just one engine. He reminded the council that this also affects the city’s ISO rating which could increase their insurance costs.

An ISO fire rating is a score provided to fire departments and insurance companies by the Insurance Services Office. The score reflects how prepared a community and area is for fires. While it mainly focuses on the local fire departments and water supply, other factors contribute to an area’s score.

Currently their ISO is 5 and Pittman said if they hit 7, they could be shut down.

Whether to purchase or lease a new engine also was discussed. Pittman said the city does not qualify for some grants because the city does not collect taxes and some grants require the city have matching funds available.

Depending on the condition of the engine, refurbished or new, prices range from $350,000 to $670,000. Pittman said the downside to buying brand new is the 18-to-24-month waiting period, but refurbished models are in stock and ready.

City Clerk Shana Moss said the city could lease and use special purpose local option sales tax funds to cover the expense.

By leasing, the city could set the terms of the lease and upgrade to a new engine when the term expires. Pittman said they are looking at a 2021 refurbished model that is around $500,000 and is within the parameters of the specifications they need. They are planning to have the numbers ready for the engine and personnel for their budget meeting this week.

At the Oct. 11 meeting, Pittman told mayor and council that many at the fire department were on the verge of walking out due to low compensation. He requested the mayor and council consider a pay rate between $14-$15 per hour. It was approved with an additional one-time bonus payout of $1,500 for October.

City Attorney Luke Moses recommended the city apply the nearly $90,000 of CARES Act funds remaining to reimburse the expenses the city paid out in wages for public safety from March 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020. The council approved the recommendation.