MD Volunteer Fire Company Finances Drained by Equipment, Personnel Cost


Clear Spring's Volunteer Fire Company

Clear Spring’s Volunteer Fire Company in Washington County, Maryland, has numerous problems which makes it difficult to run an emergency organization. Fire Chief Mike Reid is confronted with the normal problems which come with running a fire company, but he is also dealing with a list of equipment issues which is not unusual lately, according to a report from the Herald-Mail.

The report indicates that Clear Spring needs to replace a 1981 fire truck, a 1983 tanker truck, and a 1995 squad truck due to assorted issues making each unfit for the demands of their rural area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Clear Spring’s request for $325,000 for a new tanker for the third year in a row. The report states that Clear Spring has spent nearly $60,000 repairing the old tanker. This includes spending $46,000 on new frame rails to replace the corroded old ones. $30,000 in repairs were made on some of the corrosion and a crack in the body of the 1995 squad truck along with $34,000 spent on dealing with the rest of the corrosion and upgrading the truck’s portable lights to LED lighting, according comments in the report from Chief Reid.

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