Fire Chief Earns Praise for Initiative, Scolding for
Planning Process
BY PENNY HILTON
The New Gloucester Board of Selectmen praised Fire
Chief Bruce Tupper for his "creativity and initiative"
at their meeting Monday night when he approached them
for approval of some five-plus projects and purchases
-- but scolded him for poor communication with the
town manager, and working outside the normal budgeting
process. In the end, they asked him to prioritize
the importance of the several proposals and then work
out details with town manager Bill Cooper.
On the face of it, the proposals were all great opportunities
to save the town money on equipment that would enhance
fire and rescue capabilities. One was a $9,800 grant
from the Libra Foundation for purchase of a four-wheeler
to serve as a rescue and fire suppression vehicle
for deep-woods, off-roads incidents such as may well
occur on the 40 miles of ski trails due to open to
the public next year at Pineland Farms. Tupper and
Roger Lavasseur of New Gloucester Fire and Rescue
explained that their initial concern was with the
flamable nature of the bark mulch that serves as the
base for the Pineland trails. The amount donated by
the Libra Foundation would pay for a Kawasaki Mule,
with extra to pay for additional equipment, a trailer,
or go toward on-going expenses in the out-years.
It was the out-year costs that complicated the matter
for the selectmen. According to statute, all gifts
of equipment to the town must be accepted by the voters
at town meeting specifically so that budgeting for
on-going maintenance and supportive costs is assured.
In the case of the Mule, estimates included insurance,
battery replacement, and oil changes. "If it
ran as much as $500 a year that would be expensive,"
said Lavasseur.
Similarly, the annual cost of $1,200 to service a
specialized air compressor that would allow the New
Gloucester department to re-fill their own tanks cooled
the Board’s enthusiasm for Tupper’s find
of a used system for $2,500 - $3,000. The three-year
old system is in excellent condition, but is being
sold by the Island Falls Fire department because it
isn’t big enough to keep up with the needs of
the paper mills. Tupper had already talked with the
Capital Improvement Plan committee about putting purchase
of a similar a new system at $15,00 into their long-range
plans. This buy needs to be made within two weeks,
and because the item is not included in either the
current budget or the one already finalized for town
vote, the New Gloucester Fire and Rescue Association
has offered to pay for it. Cooper objected to what
he called "poor planning," and argued that
trying to fund the on-going expenses from a budget
that has already been presented as essential hurts
the credibility of the budget process.
Finally, Tupper asked the Board for their advice and
support in selecting one of several potential projects
to submit to a federal Assistance to Firefighters
Grant Program by the application deadline in two weeks.
With in-put from the entire Fire and Rescue community,
Tupper said the favored ideas were: 1) putting a pump
station and hydrants in the lake area; 2) purchasing
up-graded, light-weight Self-contained Breathing Apparatus
(SCBA) to replace a variety of older, heavier systems
with fewer safety devices; and 3) purchasing a trailer
to outfit with sprinkler and alarm systems and use
for public education, instead of borrowing similar
units from Windham and South Portland.
At the end of a sometimes tense discussion, the selectmen
got to try out the thermal imaging device purchased
by the Fire and Rescue Department after a long fund-raising
campaign.
