Hail to the (fire) chief
Fire department concerns were front-burner issues at a special meeting of the Hillsboro City Council this past Thursday.
Fire chief Ben Steketee informed the council about a cascade of problems that have been created by the breakdown of the rural pumper truck, one of four fire engines in the department.
The pumper truck belongs to the rural fire district of Risley, Lehigh, Liberty, and part of Menno townships.
Under an agreement, the township board paid for the pumper truck, and the city of Hillsboro has been allowed to use it in exchange for providing fire protection to the townships, and providing space to house the truck at the Hillsboro fire station, located at city hall.
Before the pumper truck broke down, it had been the primary truck for structure fires in rural townships.
But since Nov. 18, the truck has been out of commission, and the chief has been forced to make some tough decisions.
Until the truck can be replaced or repaired by the township, the chief decided that the fire department will operate under an emergency plan in which the city-owned ladder truck, usually kept in town, will roll out of town to fight rural structure fires.
Steketee acknowledged that under his contingency plan, if a structure fire broke out in Hillsboro at the same time the ladder truck was being used at a rural structure fire, the city would have no fire engine to immediately respond. In this worst case scenario firefighters from other departments in the county would be called upon.
In explaining the rationale for his decision, Steketee said, "We're not going to tell [the townships] 'No we can't come and fight your fire,' when we have a perfectly good fire engine here in our own station."
Before committing the city's truck to rural fire protection, the chief consulted no one on the city council, nor the mayor, nor the city administrator. He said he made the decision on his own because, as chief, it was his decision to make.
While some politicians might have had a snit about not being allowed to weigh-in on such an important matter, the chief's decision received support from Mayor Delores Dalke. Steketee knows what he's doing, which is why he's the chief, she said.
Steketee is confident that the city and the township board will act quickly to find a solution so the ladder truck can stay in town, where it belongs.
The chief deserves credit for acting decisively to protect life and property in these difficult circumstances.
For taking command.
— Grant Overstake
