Salem struggles to find money to purchase SCBAs for Fire & Rescue as deadline approaches

SALEM - Salem Fire & Rescue has until Monday, April 8, at noon to order 17 new self-contained breathing apparatuses to get them by July when the old ones expire; however, the city still is unsure where the money to purchase them will come from.

Jeremy Wesley, assistant chief at Salem Fire & Rescue, approached the city council during a meeting on Tuesday, April 2, asking for permission to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus' (SCBAs). The total cost of 17 new SCBAs and face masks for each volunteer with Salem Fire & Rescue is $58,900 from Sandry Fire Supply, Wesley said.

Sandry and the City of Davenport's Fire Department is offering Salem the opportunity to piggyback onto Davenport's order for new SCBAs, which is a cost savings of $4,000. However, Salem has to put in their order by Monday, April 8, at noon.

City council member Chuck Kramer said that the council knows they will have to by the SCBAs, it's just a matter of figuring out what account to take the money from.

'We know we have to buy them, we just have a hard time knowing what account to take them out of. If we have to take it out of the local option (fund) to do it, we're going to do it,” Kramer said.

The city council will reconvene Thursday, April 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the community center to discuss how to go about purchasing the SCBAs.

Phil West, volunteer firefighter, said if purchasing the SCBAs are not approved by Monday, the fire department will not have them by July when their current SCBAs expire.

'Without this approval, we cannot save life, we cannot save property,” West said.

'For vehicle fires or downwind fires, if a firefighter is in the smoke they may have to have a pack on to keep carcinogens out of his lungs,” Wesley said.

'If these tags expire, we will not be able to go in to save people if a building is on fire,” added Kevin Nichting, volunteer firefighter.

City council member Mary Hoyer said she would like to see a 'complete” budget from the Fire & Rescue Department that includes income and expenses.

'We need to come to grips with the long-term, ongoing expense of the fire department,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer said if they give 60 percent of the town's budget to the fire department, there won't be enough to run the town.

While the department also said they need new tires on two trucks, which is about a $3,000 expense, city council member Bill Wixom said that will have to be on the back burner right now.

'SCBA's are priority,” Wixom said.

Kramer asked Fire & Rescue why The Fire Association - a 501(c) 3 separate from the city - purchased a new brush truck for the department last year when they knew they needed SCBAs.

City council member Chris Feehan said that the money raised by The Association is specifically for equipment for the fire department, and it is donated to the city.

'The city has no right to that money,” Feehan said. 'Yet we have city council members angry that the money isn't being given to the city.”

Pat Brau, city attorney, said that The Association and the city are two separate entities.

West said that they had a 21-year-old pick up truck that needed to be replaced. The Association bought Salem Fire & Rescue the equipment they needed to travel into 'tough places” of Salem's rural environment and fight fires, he said.

In other news, the City of Salem will have their annual spring clean up on Saturday, May 11. Items must be out by 7 a.m. This is for Salem residents only.

Spring clean up collection will be done by SEMIGA Waste. This is an opportunity for residents to get rid of unusual or large items too big to fit into a garbage bag for regular collection. Garbage tags are needed for items to be taken.

Salem's annual Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday, April 13, at 1 p.m. in the town square. The city will provide 300 Easter eggs.