By Andrew Nash
Pittsburg Morning Sun – September 12, 2013
As recently as five years ago, the Pittsburg Fire Department had other funding sources for bunker gear, new pumper trucks, breathing devices and more necessary for fighting fires. Specifically, the PFD and other departments had the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But those days, although they seem recent, are not the reality of today, according to Pittsburg Fire Chief Mike Simons. “They’ve had a 47 percent reduction in federal funding to the AFG program,” Simons said. “It’s extremely difficult to acquire the grants. There’s just not the money there used to be. In 2011, the state of Kansas had 212 applications for those grants. Only 17 entities were awarded the grants in 2011.” A lack of funding and a change in priorities for those grants are part of the reason why outside funds simply are not at hand to address the number of needs facing the Pittsburg Fire Department. On Tuesday, a half-cent sales tax will go before Pittsburg voters to address equipment and training needs in both the PFD and staffing concerns in the Pittsburg Police Department. Read the Morning Sun later in the week for a story on the PPD’s needs and issues. But before one gets to the issue of why funding sources are no longer available, it’s important to first get a handle on what, specifically, the PFD is asking to do with the funds provided by the proposed sales tax increase. If approved, the PFD would receive approximately $200,000 a year over the 10-year period of the increase. Simons said that there are four main needs to be addressed through these funds: A new apparatus, bunker gear, SCBAs, and training. First of all, the PFD needs a new pumper truck. “A lot of people don’t realize the current age of a lot of our apparatuses [trucks],” Simons said. “Our front-line pumper, one of the first units out, is 23 years old when we respond to a structure fire or wreck. We also have a 27-year-old pumper and a 29-year-old pumper. I believe 30 years old is considered an antique.” If the sales tax were approved, the PFD would replace the 29-year-old pumper with a new truck. That would help, as the two oldest pumper trucks are no longer National Fire Protection Association compliant because of an open cab design. “The 23-year-old is NFPA compliant, it’s just old. We’ve had a significant number of maintenance issues, and we’ve done a great job taking care of them, but there comes a time when age catches up to you. We’re way over budget on maintenance. We’re 60 percent over, because age catches up,” he said. The second issue is bunker gear, the heavy suits worn by firefighters on scene. Each set of bunker gear has a five-year end-of-life, and while the bunker gear isn’t yet five years old, it’s getting close. Simons has proposed using the proposed sales tax funds to create a rotation of the sets of bunker gear, so that seven sets would be bought each year. That way, he said, the bunker gear could be replaced in a timely manner without breaking the bank all at one time. The third issue is SCBAs, standing for Self-Contained Breathing apparatuses. SCUBA gear is meant to withstand pressure while underwater, but the SCBAs needed by the fire department are typically more expensive, because they are designed to withstand more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. While the SCBAs have a longer end-of-life (15 years), the department also needs more of them. Specifically, about 54 air packs are needed, with 108 bottles to go with them. Simons plans on using proposed funds to put these pieces on a rotation, as well, with 10 sets being purchased each year, which will also help reduce required maintenance costs on older sets. Finally, the funds would also go to provide training, as well as full departmental training exercises. “We want to train for a large-scale incident, like severe weather or downtown fires, or a commercial fire in which the whole department would be needed,” Simons said. “We’ve never been able to train with the whole entire department. So when it does happen, we will be able to respond better, faster, and more organized.” With those as the four targeted areas of spending if the sales tax were approved, Simons referred once more to the depleted AFG program, and how competitive it has become. Further, the program shifts in priorities practically every year, with some years being high on funding apparatuses, and other years focusing on other issues. “The things we used to get in the past, they’ve changed priorities and won’t fund that anymore,” Simons said. “The money’s less and priorities have changed.” Simons said that there are always more needs for the fire department, but that these particular items were identified by a needs assessment so as not to overburden taxpayers. “There are things we know we have that are creating issues. They’re issues about the safety of firefighters and response to the community. These are the things we have to concentrate on. Believe me, there’s a lot more we could use, but we have to ask ourselves what we really need through a needs assessment,” Simons said. “For what we need right now, this will take us into the future.”
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