Published: January 17, 2007 10:55 pm            

Prairie Creek fire department seeks merger

TERRE HAUTE — Prairie Creek Volunteer Fire Department is seeking to merge with nearby Prairieton Fire Protection District to improve training and increase manpower.

To merge, the department must obtain signatures of more than 50 percent of landowners in Prairie Creek Township in favor of joining the fire protection district. Vigo County commissioners must then approve of the merger.

A fire protection district can levy property taxes to pay for fire protection, equipment and training. The Prairieton Fire Protection District in 2006 raised $63,944 under a tax rate of 0.1515 per $100 assessed value, said Vigo County Auditor Jim Bramble.

“That would be about 48 dollars on a home with a $100,000 assessed valuation with mortgage and homestead exemptions last year,” Bramble said.

Prairie Creek has 10 active members and 20 total members. The department has five firefighting vehicles, which includes a rescue/brush truck with a 300-gallon water tank, said Fire Chief Toby Long.

“The chief of Prairieton would be in charge overall and I would run the day-to-day operations in Prairie Creek. This will help us out a lot with training, which we have lacked the last few years. We only have one instructor on our department,” Long said.

“It will also increase our abilities for advanced life support. Prairieton is an ALS [advanced life support] non-transport agency, while we are just a BLS [basic life support] non-transport agency,” Long said.

“There are times when we have 10 to 15 minutes on scene with a patient when a lot can be done to help them with the increased training ability,” Long said.

In addition, Long said the Fire Department has been losing manpower and more funding would allow the department to increase its members. “It costs about $2,000 per person to equip a person with basic firefighting gear,” he said.

Doyle Piety, Prairie Creek Township trustee, said the township would deed over its fire equipment to the fire district, but fire houses and departments would remain the same. The fire houses for the departments are located about 10 miles apart.

It cost about $27,000 last year to operate the Prairie Creek Fire Department, Piety said. The township has about $40,000 in its cumulative and regular fire fund, he added.

“When I first heard about this, I thought no, but the more I hear about more training and better training as well as more money, I think [joining the fire protection district] will help us cover the township better,” Piety said.

“You have to look at this in a plus way and many people are starting to think that, from what I’ve heard,” Piety said.

Prairieton Volunteer Fire Department has 26 members and eight firefighting vehicles, said Chief Monte Hunt. The department will cost about $75,000 to operate this year, he said.

“One benefit is this will allow unified training between both departments and we can have more of the same type of equipment and gear,” Hunt said, “so when you have mutual aid, it works and flows much better.”

One other benefit, Hunt said, is with a larger fire protection district, the likelihood of obtaining federal grants for equipment is greater.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

        

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