Bismarck urging residents to buy fire tags
BISMARCK – The Bismarck Fire Department is asking rural residents who have not purchased their fire tags for 2006 to do so immediately.
The fire tags which were due on Jan. 1 are now late.
Charlie Crawford, president of the fire department’s board of directors, said they recently had to take one of their brush vehicles out of service because they could not afford the insurance on it.
&#8220It was a hard decision on what to do, we had to decide to take a truck out of service and the discussion during the meeting was either take the brush truck (used for brush fires) out of service or take the rescue truck that responds to all medical emergency calls out of service,” Crawford said.
&#8220We know that our rescue truck and our medical emergency services are so vital to the community, we elected to not insure the brush truck which leaves us with only one brush truck. However, if the Fire District Levy does not pass on April 4th, we will stop running all medical calls immediately.”
When they received a pumper donated by Lou Fenelli, the fire department took one of their other pumpers out of service because they can’t afford the cost to have insurance on both.
&#8220If this issue fails, we may have to close the doors and there will not be a fire department,” Crawford said.
Fire tags are $45 and are always due on Jan. 1. The late fee is $10 after Feb. 1. Fire tags are available at the fire station, PLS, Beer Bait and Bull, Shy Feed, Iron Mountain Lake City Hall, and the Wedge at Route W at Route N.
Checks can be mailed to Bismarck Rural Fire Department; C/O Fire Tags; PO Box 128; Bismarck MO 63624. Include property owners name, address, phone number and e-mail address. If a person would like a receipt, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Currently, the rural department relies strictly on fire tags to keep their trucks on the road.
Crawford said this funding is what gets fire trucks and firefighters to you when you call 911, with out the required funding, you may not get us anymore.
