An insurance company has denied a claim by Newton County on a fire truck housed at the Decatur Fire Department that recently had its computer programming fail.
Newton County Emergency Management Director Brian Taylor said the insurance company examined the pumper truck and found no damage that led to the computer failure, and they denied the claim.
Now, the county will have to help the Decatur Fire Department pay for the rewiring of the truck to prevent the department from having it’s ISO rating be downgraded from a 6 to a 10. Such a downgrade could cause residents’ insurance rates to increase significantly.
“Do you think the truck is worth keeping?” asked Supervisor Charles Godwin.
“Yes, it’s been a good truck,” said Decatur Fire Chief Charles Overstreet.
Normally for a county truck, each department is required to pay for the upkeep and repairs of the truck. However, the extenuating circumstances caused Decatur to ask for help in paying for these unusual repairs.
At a previous meeting, it was discussed that the programming for fire trucks like Decatur is only kept for five years, and the truck is more than five years old.
It was also discussed that it was in the county’s best interest help Decatur repair the truck, as Decatur handles a high volume of the county’s calls. They respond to more than 90 percent of their calls, plus they respond to a number of mutual aid calls outside of their fire district.
Decatur also houses the county’s self-contained breathing apparatus cascade system, that fills up air packs for firefighters battling blazes. They will typically run other fire calls to help refill air packs for other departments.
Keeping that truck in service, Taylor said, is a priority.
Supervisor Charles Moulds asked if they had received two firm quotes for the service. Taylor said he did not. However, Moulds didn’t want to wait too long to get the repairs approved.
The supervisors may call a work session followed by a brief meeting to approve the repairs later this month.
In other business, the county is considering using a grant that will allow the county to purchase a 75-kilowatt generator to power the SCBA cascade system in the event of a power outage. The cost would be about $27,000 with the county’s match being around $6,000. Taylor said the local match could be mitigated with local in-kind services for electrical work required for the installation of the generator.
