| Most of Troy’s fire calls outside of its city limits | | Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 9:27 pm
| By DONNA RYDER
Associate Editor
A report received by Troy’s mayor and board of aldermen has made it clear why the department needs funds from outside its town’s limits to continue offering fire service in rural areas of the county.
Fire department official Phillip Green presented the report to the board Tuesday night, during a meeting postponed because of the New Year’s holiday.
Green said of the 53 fire calls the department responded to during 2011, 15 were inside the city limits. Of the 38 calls outside the city limits, two were mutual aid to other cities, six were instances in which Troy was the primary department and 30 were automatic or mutual aid calls.
The fire department re-sponded to six commercial fire alarms in town, while also responding to three smoke or odor investigations, two vehicle fires, one brush or grass fire, one storm clean-up incident, one hazardous material call and one commercial fire.
When Troy responded as the primary department outside the city limits, two were for structure fires and one each for brush or grass fires, vehicle fires, a controlled burn and residential fire alarms.
Of the 30 calls made for automatic or mutual aid, 28 were for structure fires, while there was one each for brush or grass fires and commercial fires.
Green informed the board that firefighters with the department also had 53 demonstrations, meetings or training sessions.
All together, the 14 firefighters logged 258 hours and 33 minutes on call and 312 hours in demonstrations, meetings or training sessions.
In other business, the board:
• Received their Elected Officials Academy certificates.
• Agreed to renew five CDs at the best rate possible.
• Discussed the cost of the Christmas parade. The total amount had not been tallied.
• Agreed to purchase a used forklift for $5,500.
• Discussed the purchase of 10 acres of land from Jiggs Barker. Mayor Jimmie Hart said Barker was giving the city first option to purchase the land, which is adjacent to the industrial park and has the town’s sewer running through it to the lagoon. The aldermen were to review the land and the structure on it, as well as get an exact figure of the land to be purchased.
Hart said there would be no immediate need for the property, but it would be a benefit for the town to own it.
• Approved by resolution the mitigation plan for the city. It details how the town plans to deal with the flood zone and natural and man-made disasters. Green said if the town did not have a mitigation plan, then it would not be eligible for state and federal funds.
• Discussed the health of police officer Larry Farley and learned it is expected to be at least another month before he will be able to return to work.
• Heard Hart wished to paint and do some work on the bathrooms at First State Bank in Troy. He said he looked at the building after the board suggested new carpet, which will cost $3,500. First State Bank leases the property from the town. The board agreed.
• Learned the community center at Trojan Park has been painted and the floors are being stripped and rewaxed. The mayor will also look at the condition of the blinds.
• Agreed to investigate the cost of replacing the town’s Christmas lights. During the December meeting, the board instructed alderman Lou Solmon to check into replacing the lights with LEDs. Tuesday night, he told the board that incandescent lights, such as the ones the town currently uses, will no longer be made available for purchase after this year. He suggested if the town wishes to purchase LEDs from a local business and restring the Christmas decorations, the purchase needs to be made after Christmas when the lights go on deep discount. He added the LED light bulbs will not work with the incandescent wiring.
Also during the December meeting, the board heard that auditors were in town and everything was looking good. The board also accepted Bobby Dial’s resignation from the Industrial Development Board. Tony Parr and Jess Whitesides were then appointed to the board.
Published in The Messenger 1.4.12 | | | | |
