CHOTEAU — The Choteau Volunteer Fire Department recently added a new-to-them fire truck to their fleet, and they were able to do so without any additional cost to the taxpayers.
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Doug Yeager knew that getting a new truck was paramount in keeping the city’s ISO ratings down.
Yeager, President of the Choteau Volunteer Fire Department said, “It was kind of a critical time for us to, to make sure we had another engine in here to keep the protection to the community where it needs to be.”
A low ISO rating means more affordable insurance rates for the town and is based on a myriad of factors.
Aaron Leys, Choteau Fire Department chief said, “The water flow available to them, the equipment available to them, and…their timeliness in getting there.”
Chief Leys is thrilled with the truck the department found.
Leys said, “I feel great having it. It's another truck. Gets us what we need, a lot of storage on it for the gear we need.”
Another important factor: It was purchased without a mill levy or any public funding support.
Yeager said, “The funds for this particular truck came through our our county fire fee district. We're on a rotation around the county between the different departments.”
Ben Rhodes, Teton County fire warden said, “Choteau has been sitting on their money a little bit, building up their coffers a little bit. And they were able enough with the money that they got to purchase this out of the fee service money.”
The truck is from 1999 but in great condition, and is very similar to one of their other trucks, meaning it will be easy to train firefighters to the new equipment.
Leys said, “A seamless transition, truck to truck. You don't have to have everyone trained on every single aspect of it. It just seamlessly flows across”
The truck will help keep the Choteau Fire Department well prepared for anything to come their way.
Yeager said, “We still need equipment that's very functional, very operational. However, with that, the life of our equipment tends to last a lot longer because we don't wear it out at the same pace as those larger, larger departments do.”
Currently, the department's needs are met with the new truck, but they said that in the near future they may start saving money to replace their brush trucks.
