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The village and the city evaluate the potential to merge the two fire departments to become one. Mayor Craig Miller, member of the Brocton Fire Department, spoke about the matter after a recent meeting of the Village Board.

Miller, a sweatshirt by Bropron Fire Rescue, explained that the talks are in the process very early on. In order for a merger to be approved, three groups would have to be on board – the Brocton Village Board, the Portland Town Board and the Commissioners who rule the Portland fire brigade.

Dave Hazelton, a rescue doctor and former member of the Brocton Village Board, will be involved in the discussions to facilitate the process. Hazelton said about a potential fusion: “It seems to be the popular thing.”

Rich Lewis, supervisor of the city of Portland, will meet on March 10 with the fire commissioners of Portland to discuss the possibility of a merger. The village of Bropron is excited to see where these conversations are going. Miller hopes to agree a meeting with Lewis and the commissioners with other members of those present in order to continue discussing the matter at a later date.

The condition of the Brocton Fire Hall belongs to a merger with Portland for various reasons.

The idea of ​​merging Brocton and Portland fire brigades appeared in the past, but did not achieve much traction. In the years since then, the two communities have started to share many key services. Among them, Brocton and Portland share a highway superintendent, Ken Becker. The two municipalities recently also formed the water system in Brocton Portland when they were separated together by CBI to master the water service and the billing questions together.

Membership is a driving force behind the idea to merge the two departments. Hazelton said: “The great concern for us is all workers. There seems to be nothing. “

Fire brigades across the state have difficulty recruiting and maintaining members, and even those who are part of the department do not always have the opportunity to react frequently. The combination of the two departments would enable a much healthier number of members on the roster.

Another reason why a merger makes sense – especially for Brocton – is the condition of the current fire hall in Brocton. CPL: Architecture engineering planning carried out an engineering report on the Brocton Fire Hall, in which the need for significant improvements were emphasized. With the help of municipal solutions, the board tried to get the necessary improvements in the building in order to carry out the necessary upgrades for the building. However, the village's proposal was not selected.

If the two departments merge, you could evaluate the skills of the current Portland facilities. However, another option is to receive the funds for a new location. With regard to membership, the municipalities do not want to risk disturbing the committed members of each department that they have by discussing a merger.

Equipment will also be a topic of discussion in every potential fusion. The equipment discussions discussed recently in BROCTON Village Board, as two new trucks were bought and a purchased truck was just received.

A new Chevrolet Silverado 5500 Rescue Truck was bought for the Brocton fire brigade for about 92,000 US dollars, with the majority of the fire brigade's fuity's device account and a transfer of $ 30,000 from the village account to cover the remaining balance.

Lewis was later approved for the purchase of a 2025 RAM truck to replace the existing vehicle used in the water and sewage system. The existing vehicle and the connected plow are traded for 33,000 US dollars, which is even higher than for 2019, without the costs of the connected plow. Lewis made four offers available to the board and had the funds available for the purchase in his budget. The costs according to the trade loan are $ 11,402 without the costs of a plow that is to be added at a later date.

After the approval in November, the village also received its newly purchased service vehicle for the electrical department. The village exhausted the remaining 27,503.69 US dollars from ARPA fund, which are available with the purchase of the vehicle. The remaining remaining amount of $ 16,11.65 came from the reserve account of the electrical department.

Trustee Kari Dino joked that they felt in the famous talk show episode like Oprah Winfrey, in which everyone in the audience was given a new vehicle. Miller also joked: “Does anyone need a truck while we are there?”

Remarkably, surveillance cameras were recently installed in the Brocton Fire Hall. The electrical department helped installation and the water and wastewater department provided the system.