Havre Fire Department getting new truck

The Havre Fire Department’s new fire truck is now in production, Fire Chief Mel Paulson said Monday as he updated the Havre City Council about the department’s activities.

The department is expected to receive the truck sometime in July or August, Paulson said.

“So I am pretty excited about that,” he said.

A $485,000 grant the department received in late 2016 will pay for the new truck.

The new truck will have the capacity to hold 1,000 gallons of water, compared to the 750 gallons a truck typically can hold, Paulson said. The truck will also have a phone system on it and will be black with red lettering instead of the red with black lettering of most fire trucks.

One firefighter in 2017 was trained to be a ropes rescue technician and Paulson said he is hoping two more can be trained in the spring.

Two hazardous material technicians were also certified this year, and Paulson said he hopes to get at yeasty one more certified.

Seven firefighters have received ice rescue training.

The department in 2017, Paulson said, hired one firefighter. Another two are now on their probationary period. He said that after the firefighters are trained, he hopes to bring them before the council within the coming months for the council to approve their hiring.

Fire prevention week was a success this year, Paulson said, with more than 300 people, with some coming from as far as Hays and Lodgepole.

The department is working to put in place a new paging system where first responders can use their cellphones.

He said firefighters use to have pagers, but the new technology will provide them with the address where the fire is happening, and location of the closest fire hydrant. Firefighters can also press on their cellphone in the event of a fire to say whether they are available or unavailable so the department will know right away how many firefighters will come to a fire at any given time.

In other business, council member and chair of the council’s Streets and Sidewalks Committee Denise Brewer said the committee received 45 responses Monday to a survey they sent to city clerks throughout Montana about how each one generates revenue to fix their streets.

The committee has not yet had the chance to review the responses, Brewer said.

Brewer said the survey asked the clerks if their city charges the downtown area for maintenance services, and if so how much. It also asks if the city generates revenue to repair streets and if the city charges for any out-of-town business licenses and if so how much.

She said the committee will review the responses at their meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Safety Committee Chair Karen Swenson said her committee will meet March 14 at 1:30 p.m.

The Council’s next meeting will be 7 p.m. Monday, March 19.