The Standard Fire Department received a new fire truck, and the village and rural fire district received lower — and better — fire insurance ratings this spring.
Residents of the 34-square-mile fire district will not see increased taxes due to the purchase of the $380,000 pumper truck that will be paid off over about 20 years, said fire chief Mike Skowera. The new truck, which is being fitted with all the tools needed for fighting rural fires and structure fires, replaces a 1982 pumper truck that has been sold to neighboring Cedar Point.
Firefighters drove the truck Tuesday from U.S. Tank in Delavan (WI). The truck has a Spartan Metro Star chassis to carry the Wisconsin-built fire apparatus. It has a 1,000-gallon capacity. Standard’s two tanker trucks have 3,500- and 2,000-gallon capacities, respectively, meaning the department still can haul up to 6,500 gallons of water directly to a fire in the district or neighboring districts.
Having the equipment to deliver more than 5,000 gallons of water with an initial response helps the fire rating. Residents within Standard village limits and within 1,000 feet of the fire hydrants along the water main to the village well house two miles north of town have an insurance rating of 4, which is better than the previous 5. Structures not near hydrants have an 8b fire rating, better than the previous 9.
Skowera said after completion of the repainting of Standard’s water tower and water main improvements, the department should be able to conduct a “tanker shuttle” test to prove the ability, along with “auto-aid” neighboring departments, to deliver 250 gallons of water per minute for two hours uninterrupted to rural areas. That ability could further improve the insurance rating of Standard and neighbors.
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