Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Chesterton Fire Department command staff consolidated

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By KEVIN NEVERS

The Chesterton Fire Department’s chain of command has been shortened by one link.

At its meeting Monday night, the Town Council voted unanimously to amend the 2016 Salary Ordinance, giving raises to Fire Chief John Jarka and Deputy Fire Chief Nate Williams and thereby formalizing a de facto consolidation of the command staff following former fire chief Mike Orlich’s retirement in May 2014.

Under Orlich’s watch, the CFD’s rolls included a Deputy Fire Chief, in which position Jarka served; and a Division Chief of Training, in which position Willams served. When Orlich retired, Jarka was named the new Fire Chief and Williams the new Deputy Chief but the decision was made not to fill the other slot--Division Chief of Training--but instead to divvy up the responsibilities between Jarka and Williams.

The job descriptions of both Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief have since been re-written and the raises approved on Monday reflect the two’s additional duties, said Member Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, the council’s liaison to the CFD.

The Fire Chief’s salary went from $58,769 to $67,660; the Deputy Chief’s, from $52,998 to $64,552.

Surplus Rescue Truck

In other business, members voted unanimously to approve a swap of trucks with the Burns Harbor Fire Department.

The CFD will transfer ownership of its old 1992 rescue truck--which the council declared surplus at its last meeting--to the BHFD, in exchange for which it will receive a 2006 light rescue truck and a $25,000 cash payment. The light rescue truck is the BHFD’s old ambulance by another name.

The 1992 rescue truck, which was originally acquired to carry the CFD’s rescue tools and has no hose- or water-carrying capability, will be made obsolete by the department’s new engine, currently being manufactured. The new engine has a specifically designated “rescue body” with sufficient compartment space for tools.

Surplus Bunker Gear

Members also voted unanimously to authorize the CFD to transfer 11 sets of old bunker gear--long since retired from service and declared surplus by the council at its last meeting--to the ownership of the New Chicago Volunteer Fire Department.

The National Fire Protection Agency recommends--but doesn’t require--retiring bunker gear after 10 years of service, and at least some of the 11 sets are half again as old as that. At the moment the NCVFD doesn’t have enough bunker gear to outfit all of its firefighters, however, so the CFD’s gently used sets will be much appreciated.

New Engine

Meanwhile, Jarka reported that the CFD should take delivery of the new engine--referred to technically as a “pumper”--sometime in May. It’s being manufactured by the Sutphen Corporation of Dublin, Ohio, at a contract price of $462,362.

The good news, Jarka said, is that Horizon Bank has quoted an interest rate on an eight-year loan of 1.88 percent, what Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann called “a very low rate.”

The first two payments on the vehicle will actually be made by Westchester Township, under an agreement with the CFD, which provides fire protection services to certain designated portions of unincorporated Westchester. The final six payments will be made from the town’s Cumulative Capital Development fund, which has a dedicated property-tax rate and is used exclusively for the acquisition of emergency vehicles.

Members voted unanimously to authorize Jarka to formalize the loan with Horizon Bank.

Grant Awarded

Jarka also reported that the CFD will be able to purchase 30 new air packs, along with masks and bottles, with a 90/10 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Several other fire departments in Porter County are also recipients of AFG moneys, Jarka noted, but the Portage Fire Department was the filing agency which actually administered the grant application.

The 10-percent match will be provided by Westchester Township, Jarka added.

 

Posted 4/14/2016

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

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