The Washington Township Fire Department submitted its 2011 budget to the Washington Township Committee, and the budget was reviewed at the committee’s special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15. The budget, which has not changed from 2010, includes upgrades in technology and machinery. 

The fire department, which incorporates the Long Valley, Fairmount, and Schooley’s Mountain Fire Companies, has requested a budget worth a total of $107,824, identical to the total the three companies received combined in 2010.

Although the end total is identical, there are alterations that have been made to certain line items in the department’s budget. For instance, whereas the department received $17,575 for necessary fire equipment in 2010, the department has requested an increase in that total to $22,962 for this year’s budget.

The fire department has also requested four new UHF portable radios, which would cost around $5,600 and were not able to be purchased with a 2010 grant that brought the first of the new radios into the department.

The need for the new technology is imperative, as radios functioning on older frequencies cannot be “narrow-banded” to current technological standards.

“The radios and pagers from the grant were put in service,” said fire chief Kurt Wanner. “The issue with narrow-banding is the old equipment—it can’t be made narrow-band capable. We have to discard it and buy a replacement.”

The fire department would also like the township to look into including an extra $3,000 for the utility costs the three companies incur throughout the year. Several department members have claimed that the companies go through the propane they use for heating very quickly, and that electricity costs can currently run the companies up to $900 per month.

Long Valley Fire Company Chief Aaron Drake is also hoping that the township will allow the fire companies funding to replace aging engines over the next couple of years. Engine 1-1, a 20-year-old fire engine, is due for replacement this year, with engine 2-2 needing to be replaced in 2012.

It is important that the department gets the funding for the new engines it is requesting, as overusing the same equipment past its expected lifespan could cause the fire companies problems in responding to emergencies, due to events like breakdowns and other equipment failures on the aging machines.

“If we push everything down the line, everything gets older, and everything gets more expensive,” said Drake.

There is the possibility that the departments could simply refurbish the aging vehicles; however, that would only be a band-aid solution that would delay the inevitable replacement of the engines.

“As far as replacement trucks for an engine, it’s questionable whether you get return on an investment to refurbish that,” said Wanner. “If you put a new body on it, you’ve still got the same engine and the same body on it.”