The City of Carmi Fire Department is getting a new (to them) ladder truck. Last Thursday morning (September 11th) in a special council meeting, the board agreed to authorize Mayor Bill Stendeback to bid on a 1998 FL80 from Black Township in Posey County, Indiana. After a lengthy discussion, council gave Stendeback permission to spend up to $45,000 on the vehicle. We learned at the Tuesday City Council meeting Carmi is getting the new apparatus for $35,000.
The truck, according to Stendeback, is in great shape and was only taken out of service in May of this year due to a new truck being placed in service. The mayor says the vehicle cost $1.9 million purchased new.
The truck will replace an ’83 truck according to councilman Jeremy Courson and the department has a few other vehicles to put out for bid once they can get titles in hand.
Until now, Carmi has had to rely on Shawneetown or Fairfield if they need a ladder truck.
There’s a chance the purchase will improve the department’s ISO rating. ISO ratings, also known as Public Protection Classification, are scores given to fire departments with a rating of 1 to 10 (the lower the number, the better) and takes into account staffing, training, quality of water supply, effectiveness of emergency communication systems, and equipment available to suppress fires. Right now, officials believe Carmi has gone from a 5 to a 6 in the last year. That’s despite a $220,000 gift from the Absher Charitable Foundation to purchase three new pieces of equipment; mostly because those purchases were aimed at assisting with rural firefighting situations.
Read more at Absher Charitable Foundation Gift to Carmi Fire Department Realized – WRUL-FM
Councilwoman Lacey Bradshaw works in insurance and says she’s seen insurance rates go up recently due to that ISO rating.
Courson says Black Township said they would provide free training for firefighters.
Funding for the truck came in part from the City of Carmi’s unrestricted money market at $25,000 as well as $10,000 from the Carmi Fire Department.