To the Editor:
This letter is from the Green Creek Volunteer Fire Company. We usually do not get involved with rumors or petty arguments, but felt it necessary to respond to several recent “spout offs” that were placed in the Herald.
The spouts basically were in response to the fire company planning on purchasing a new truck. There were false statements made of taxes being raised, and that the fire company has too much equipment now and shouldn’t be purchasing an additional truck.
To set the record straight, the fire company is in the initial phase of purchasing a new “Squad” rescue pumper. It will take approximately three years to take delivery of the truck. The apparatus would be replacing a 2006 squad rescue pumper and a 2001 pumper tanker. So, eventually, the fire company will have fewer trucks, not more. This will save on maintenance and insurance costs.
Also, the newly installed fire hydrants in the fire district allowed the fire company, which had two tankers, the benefit to keep one tanker and trade in the second tanker.
There was a mention of the taxes being raised; again, this is a false statement. The fire company will not be raising the tax rate at all. The fire company, through voter approval, saves $100,000 a year, which is on a line item of “new truck.” The last engine, which is a 2018, was purchased in full with the funds saved up.
When the new Squad arrives, the fire company will have saved almost the entire cost of the new truck, due to the yearly budget of monies, surplus monies, and monies received from the two trucks traded in.
So, yes, we are in the process of purchasing a new truck, and we are doing it as economical and cost effective as possible.
We have members who have been with the fire company two, three, and four decades, who still jump up in the middle of the night, for no pay, and respond to wherever they are called. We find it hard to believe that citizens would not want its fire company to have the best equipment.
DAVID ZEISS, PAUL FRITSCH,
and DAVID ATKINSON JR.
Green Creek
ED. NOTE: The above letter was submitted by Paul Fritsch, deputy chief of Green Creek Volunteer Fire Company. It was also signed by Chief David Zeiss and President David Atkinson Jr.
