Millstone fire district will get new fire truck

Millstone

MILLSTONE - The township will soon get a new fire truck.

The Millstone Township Board of Fire Commissioners, Fire District No. 1, held a special referendum vote on the purchase of a new fire engine from 2-9 p.m. on Saturday at the Millstone firehouse.

In the election, 92 people voted in favor of purchasing the new truck, while 71 individuals voted against the measure. There were also three absentee ballots that the fire department did not have information on before press time.

Prior to the election, George Gilbert, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said the fire district needs the new engine to replace a 1986 Class A pumper and its equipment. The fire district's current pumper, a Mack engine with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and 1,000 gallons of water, no longer meets safety standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), according to Gilbert.

Gilbert said the new truck would have a fully enclosed cab area with belted seating for all firefighters, which meets new, stricter safety standards.

The new pumper would also be equipped with a Class A foam system, which incorporates the latest firefighting technology to fight fires more safely and efficiently, according to Gilbert.

The cost of the apparatus and equipment is not to exceed $625,000. Fire commissioners would either bond or lease purchase the new vehicle, whichever is more feasible, according to Gilbert.

If the pumper is bonded over 20 years, the fire tax rate would increase about half a penny per year during those 20 years. This means that a resident with a home assessed at the township's average would pay an estimated $20 more per year in fire taxes for 20 years for the purchase of the truck.

The fire district already relies on a tax levy of approximately $1.05 million. The fire tax rate in Millstone amounts to 7.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value, meaning that a property owner whose home is assessed at the township average of $395,400 currently pays $307 per year in fire taxes.

The township's fire district serves, educates and protects the nearly 10,000 people and 37 square miles of Millstone Township against fire and other life-hazard conditions, according to the department's Web site.

For more information about the fire district, visit www.mtbfc.com.

- Jennifer Kohlhepp