Benton Township residents voice fire protection concerns
Wednesday evening, more than 25 people did. And they had questions about the future of fire protection and emergency medical services.
It's unlikely that contract will be renewed for 2017, leaving
Last week,
Once residents started asking about the future of emergency services,
"Because they don't like to be linked to this board in any way," she said. "Three thousand lives are in peril
McInerney and a few members of the public blamed board secretary
"You have a right to be against it, but you sabotaged the process," McInerney told Crouch. "Brian, they never want you on their property again, they never want to be in a meeting with you."
Crouch -- in a letter dated
He also vowed to have
"When you play chess, you don't tell the person your next move. Clearly," said
"It should have been allowed to go to a vote," Caves said. "We should have been trying to negotiate these points instead of bulldozing them. And it's really sad, because there were some good things that we could have worked out."
Crouch unveiled his vision of a future independent
Crouch said he wants a 21st century, professional fire chief, someone young who could recruit volunteers. This position would be paid with benefits at an estimate of
Another
The full-time chief, one part-time firefighter and volunteers would be assigned to work from
Crouch's plans also include forming a safety board.
Crouch estimates the department could be funded with
He also suggests reallocating township funds toward a fire department, maintaining the minimum of savings in the township's rainy day fund, writing grants, asking B&B Water collect a fire fund charge, and setting up accounts on crowdfunding websites like www.gofundme.com.
"It's time now for
One resident said he was kind of relieved the township didn't have to join the fire territory, and that
Members of the volunteer fire department urged the public to help them recruit new volunteers. They especially need help finding volunteers to help cover daytime hours, when others are at work.
Of the 150 to 200 emergency runs the department handles a year, about 70 percent of those calls are medical emergencies.
Caves said the volunteer department has considered taking trained EMTs, who would only go on medical runs and not firefighting calls.
"This is scary for all of us," said Caves, who has served as a volunteer firefighter for 16 years.
"And it only takes one person to die. One. Because someone couldn't get there."
For more information about the
___
(c)2016 the Herald-Times (Bloomington, Ind.)
Visit the Herald-Times (Bloomington, Ind.) at www.heraldtimesonline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News