Council approves tanker purchase, pays city share of BCAlert system

Department's old pumper truck to be offered for sale

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

— City council members, at their regular June 6 meeting, approved the purchase of a fire department tanker for $5,000 to help the department meet ISO standards for water available to fight fires within the city.

At a recent evaluation of the fire department’s fire-fighting capabilities, the city's water system achieved just over 20 points out of 40 points possible, according to Gentry Fire Chief Vester Cripps.

"It's a volume issue, not pressure," Cripps said at a fire committee meeting last month, explaining that the department could not access enough gallons per minute from hydrants to meet higher ISO standards.

"The fire load in downtown, because it's not sprinkled, is rated (by ISO) at 3,000 gallons per minute," Cripps said. "Some buildings are greater and some less than the 3,000 per minute average."

"No hydrants are capable of that," Cripps explained, adding that the best hydrant (which is outside the city limits) is capable of near 1,500 gallons per minute.

"We never will get 3,000 gallons from a single hydrant, so we'll need two hydrants," he said.

"We used to only take tankers to fires outside the city, but there's no reason we can't use them in the city," he explained.

In line with his goal of improving the Gentry Fire Department's fire-fighting capabilities, Cripps told committee members he would like to add another tanker to the department's fleet and could obtain one - a 1985 Freightliner (refurbished in 1994) with a 3,250 gallon tank - from another Benton County Fire Department for $5,000. The stainless steel tank alone on the truck was worth far more than the price he obtained on the truck. Money for the truck purchase is already in the Fire Department Sinking Fund - money set aside from city water bills for fire truck purchases.

Using a tanker shuttleoperation from a second hydrant or hydrants in another quadrant of the city, Cripps is seeking to supplement the available water from a local hydrant to meet the city's fire suppression needs.

Earlier this year, Cripps and his department tested the shuttle system for ISO and the results will be learned in July or August when the department is notified of its 2011 ISO rating.

According to Cripps, the department's radio dispatch is rated a 3; the fire department itself, a 4; and the water system, 5. If the tanker shuttles can bring up the water availability, the department could receive an improved rating this summer. That is Cripps' hope.

The council approved the purchase of the used tanker and Cripps said it could be put to use as soon as the department gets it and outfits it with the needed markings and radio equipment.

In a related matter, the council also approved the sale of a 1970s model pump truck which did not have enough pumping capacity to meet the department’s needs and was regarded by some on the department as less than safe to drive because of play in the steering. The council unanimouslyapproved the truck’s sale by bid from other smaller departments which may be able to benefit by having the older truck.

The council unanimously approved payment of the city’s cost share for six months of the county’s BCAlert system. The price for the system which makes phone calls and sends text messages and email messages to residents to warn them of dangerous storms and other emergencies is 39 cents per person each year. The prorated cost to the city for six months was $615.29.

Had the city not paid its share of the cost, Gentry residents would no longer receive the emergency notifications.

“I think this is a wonderful system,” councilwoman Janice Arnold said of BCAlert.

“This is a good way to warn our residents,” said councilman Todd Wagner.

With storm sirens sometime failing and being hard to hear inside a closed home, the BCAlert calls and messages were viewed as an effective and potentially life-saving method of warning city residents of dangerous storms and other impending emergencies.

It was estimated that 80 percent of the BCAlert calls were received during the recent severe storms.

News, Pages 8 on 06/15/2011