Gilman Fire Department welcomes new truck with push-in ceremony
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Members of the Gilman Fire Department perform the ceremonial “push-in” of their new truck on Saturday morning at the station.
The new Gilman fire truck, right, is pictured next to the first motorized truck the department ever purchased, a 1947 model.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Members of the Gilman Fire Department perform the ceremonial “push-in” of their new truck on Saturday morning at the station.
The new Gilman fire truck, right, is pictured next to the first motorized truck the department ever purchased, a 1947 model.
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GILMAN -- Members of the Gilman Volunteer Fire Department celebrated a moment that was at least 2 ½ years in the making on Saturday morning with the first ever push-in ceremony for a new truck as they replaced a vehicle that was nearly 40 years old.
Gilman Fire Chief Jacob Patterson, who also works full-time as a firefighter with the Marshalltown Fire Department (MFD), said the city council and township trustees have been onboard from the get go, but the biggest struggle, of course, was figuring out a way to pay for it without raising taxes.
"We had money set aside in the budget for a truck payment, so we used that money and then kind of funneled some money around in other places to make it work," he said.
The GFD received down payment assistance through a $15,000 grant from Farm Credit Services of America, and the plan is to pay off the truck, which is estimated to cost around $322,000, over a 17-year period through the city budget.
The projected cost does not include some additional equipping expenses of approximately $20,000 to $30,000 with a grant application pending to cover them. Gilman currently has six operational vehicles, and the new vehicle, which has less than 2,000 miles on it, came from Simon Fire Equipment and Repair in Farley, located in far eastern Iowa near Dubuque.
The general lifespan for a new truck is around 20 years, so the truck that is being replaced had been in reserve status since 2012.
"This new truck will take the place of that as far as a pumper, but then it also adds us an additional tanker. So it hauls 2,000 gallons of water and it has a 1,250 gallon permanent pump," Patterson said. "So we can pump with it or we can haul water with it. It's kind of a dual purpose."
It was a special moment to have members of the department, city leaders, residents, family and friends on hand for the inaugural push-in ceremony Saturday morning.
"I've always thought they were really cool. We've just never really done one, nor have we ever gotten a new apparatus in the last 20 years that was big enough or special enough to be able to do that," Patterson said. "With this one hopefully lasting us another 40 years and the amount of money we spent, I kind of felt like it was reasonable to do some sort of push-in and make it a little more special than we normally would if we were to buy something used. We didn't have as big of a crowd as what I was hoping for, but I think (for) the people that were there, it was pretty special."
Among the attendees were retired volunteer firefighters from Gilman, Marshalltown Fire Chief Christopher Cross and members of nearby departments that provide mutual aid on calls for service.
"It was pretty cool to watch everything finally come together," Patterson said.
Patterson has served as the chief in Gilman for the last four plus years and has been a volunteer firefighter with the department since 2009. The Gilman Volunteer Firefighters Association is a registered 501(c)3 organization that happily accepts tax-deductible donations and any other supplies that will help them perform their duties.
He is also working on applying for additional grants through a variety of government agencies and private businesses to cover the costs of equipment, and they have already received them from Prairie Meadows Casino and Corteva previously.
"You can't win what you don't apply for, so we're just trying it and seeing what happens," Patterson said.
And above all else, the Gilman FD, which currently has 14 volunteers, is always looking to add to its ranks, with applicants preferred to live within the fire district -- though exceptions have been granted in the past.
"We have enough room for 20 (firefighters). We're always needing more. It doesn't cost you anything unless you want it to. We will pay for your training. We'll pay for your certification," Patterson said.
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.