By SARAH WRIGHT
Staff Writer
swright@the-papers.com
Turkey Creek Fire Territory met Friday when renovations to fire station one, EMS pricing and repairs were discussed.
The financial report noted 59 percent of the repair and parts budget had already been used. Syracuse Fire Chief Mickey Scott said the increase in costs was due to troubles with the department’s tanker. He warned next month’s financial report would have approximately $10,000 in repairs since the department had to replace the tanker’s aerial.
During his report Scott also reviewed new EMS pricing recommended by Medicount Management Inc., which handles the department’s EMS billing. New pricing would be approximately $800 for basic life support, $900 for advance life support one and $1,000 for advance life support level two. Mileage costs would also increase to between $15 to $18 per loaded mileage. Even with the increases the township would remain one of the lowest costing services. The pricing will be further discussed during next month’s meeting.
During the meeting, board members were given a tour of Station One by Scott. The tour highlighted several issues the station is suffering from, including cramped rooms and lack of storage.
The quality of storage of EMS supplies was one point of interest. The supplies are stored in a closet a good distance from the ambulances. The closet is the only space available to store the supplies because they need to remain in a protected environment away from diesel fumes.
Scott also said male and female employees and volunteers are sharing bathroom and shower facilities.
The tour concluded in one of the truck bays with a discussion between board members and firefighters about available options for the renovation. The addition of a second story was considered.
Board member Jeff Morgan did state they would need to scale back and take a more detailed look at requested renovations, estimated to total approximately $500,000. Some areas for revision included cutting a requested meeting hall and fitness room. Board member Bill Musser added that while the board is on the department’s side they also have to answer to the taxpayers.
See Wednesday’s issue of The Mail-Journal for further information on this story.