The Polls are open today at the Lebanon Elementary School from 6am-8pm….Be sure to vote!!
Search Posts
Categories
- Community News (315)
- Editorial (101)
- Elections 2009 (7)
- Elections 2010 (10)
- Featured (6)
- Human Interest (40)
- Ladies Circle (1)
- Meeting Minutes (81)
- Meeting Notices (30)
- School (8)
- Suggestions (26)
- Town Government (233)
- Town Services (94)
.OurVoice Resources
Our Local Businesses
Our Town On The Web
Town & Political Links
Town Organizations
Post Archives
- October 2011 (4)
- September 2011 (11)
- August 2011 (27)
- July 2011 (12)
- June 2011 (42)
- May 2011 (37)
- April 2011 (6)
- March 2011 (4)
- January 2011 (13)
- December 2010 (1)
- November 2010 (2)
- September 2010 (1)
- August 2010 (5)
- July 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (15)
- May 2010 (21)
- April 2010 (31)
- March 2010 (30)
- February 2010 (18)
- January 2010 (23)
- December 2009 (19)
- November 2009 (17)
- October 2009 (20)
- September 2009 (35)
- August 2009 (31)
- July 2009 (23)
- June 2009 (31)
- May 2009 (21)
- April 2009 (42)
- March 2009 (25)
- February 2009 (10)
- January 2009 (27)
- December 2008 (24)
- November 2008 (7)
- October 2008 (31)
- September 2008 (2)
I was amazed today when my wife and I went to the school to vote and they had a group of young boys trying to sell us on a new firetruck that is like $350,000.
Didnt we just buy a new firetruck? Didn’t the fire department just get a new squad truck? How many firetrucks do we need?
I was appalled at what these guys said for why we need a new fire truck, so it can go to Sanford and Rochester for calls and help them?
No, we do not need a new fire truck. They are not busy enough to need the ones they have. They also said they just put over $20,000 thousand dollars into the truck they want to replace. The warranty on the new equipment they just fixed make it a dumb reason to replace it.
Why did we just buy a new fire truck for under 200,000 and now they want 1.5 times more than the last one we just bought?
I agree. We went to the open house at the fire station and there were a lot of fire trucks. How often do they all get used? Thats ALOT of money for a fire truck. Isnt the one we just bought good enough? Why is this one almost double the price. I also heard them say to me the reason they want it is to respond to Sanford and Rochester to help them. Let them buy their own fire truck!!
what is the difference if the fire department wantes a new fire truck you will have to vote on it just like everything else so if it is voted down they dont get it. so no harm in triing to sell it to the towns people just like everything else that is sold in this town. some think we need police some dont. some think we need town manage some dont. some think we need another ambulance some dont so what if it gets on the ballot let people vote if its voted down so what the fire department will go on and keep doing the good job that they do just like all the rescue people.
you have your right to your right to think they dont need it and others have the right to think they do need it. other towns come in and help us just like lebanon goes and help them when they need it both fire and rescue .
I am not sure why we would need a $350,000 fire truck in town. They told me about it and they said they wanted to get everything possible with the truck and they wanted a “custom chassis” that is $100,000 more then a normal chassis and they want this extra cab so they can carry more firefighters to other towns?
I saw both the rescue and fire people there. I talked with them both. There are differences, one will raise my taxes ALOT and one will not. The ambulance brings money into the town and pays for itself. They also do triple the call volume the fire department does. When asked how many structure fires they had this year and needed all their trucks, they said 1. To me, why do we need 2 pumpers, 2 pumper-tankers, 2 utility trucks, a forestry pumper and a boat? This is Lebanon. Shapleigh has the SAME call volume and they have 1 engine, 1 tanker and 1 forestry – thats it. Sanford has 4 engines, so does Lebanon when you count the more expensive pumper-tankers we have. So when they do 250 calls and the ambulance does over 650, there is a difference.
I was glad I didn’t vote absentee this year and went to get the info on these two items and get some good home made food from the ladies club.
It was also nice to see the group doing the petition and reading about the wrong doings of the town!
I must say that when I saw the two firefighters “telling us” about their new dream pumper, I was shocked they didn’t recognize me as the person that they drove around at 11 at night and made me put out my little camp fire that was small and didn’t need a permit. Now they want me to pay for a new fire truck? Didn’t we just get one? These two fire fighters said they drive around looking for people burning. I was one of their “stats” at the end of the month. If you take away their calls they generate themselves for checking little camp fires, they don’t seem to have many calls at all.
I agree, let us vote on it!!! I will help spread the word and I know several others that have had legal sized fires and made to put them out
I think the two fire fighters were really upset with me yesterday 11/03/09. I was catching ALL the ones coming out from voting and taking up their time explaining the Town Charter. Even the one handing out phamphlets on the other side of me commented how good we were at the Citizens Round Table.
The one thing I don’t understand. Why do they need a new fire truck? Did they take the monies that were raised by the rescuers and give that to the fire department for a new truck?
you need a permit for no matter how small a fire you have check with someone in the fire department that knows maybe the 2 that was at the polls was not the best to have getting the word out. and i really dont think they would take the money that rescue gets for a fire truck.
it has not even been on for a vote and who says it will be. everyone seems to get so upset over talk. so what if they want a truck you dont have to vote on it. i would really hate to see this town have as many calls for fire as we do rescue i sure wouldnt want to have my house burning. the fire department does alot more then just fires they are also great volunteers .
Unsure:
If all of the monies that come into the town are put into a General Fund, how do you know that they didn’t use the monies that were raised by the volunteers at the rescue dept? All of the monies are all put into the General Fund. I am sure they do have good volunteers at the fire department. The selectmen did not have a vote on fixing one of the fire trucks? Why would they vote on getting a new one?
Fire trucks are expensive…they need to be planned for, and saved for as to not punch the taxes hard. If the volunteers that fight fires are starting to talk up a an engine, that is great. It raises peoples awareness and lets us know there might be a need…people can debate that need and the timing…but before anything happens it needs to be justified, budgeted through committee, which would then bring it to a vote giving residents the final say.
If the town set a side a little bit of money each year these big expenses wouldn’t be so alarming, the problem in my opinion is we don’t plan. You know what they say…failure to plan is a plan to fail.
I don’t get what the issue is with the infighting between Rescue and Fire. They are both dedicated volunteers we are so fortunate to have all of them all.
Rescue does generate significant income to the town with it’s calls, and could have generated even more had the Ambulance petition not been sidetracked by Selectmen Patch and Frizzell.
The profits from the additional Ambulance probably could have gone a long way to covering some of the costs for a Fire Truck and many other things that this town needs. Too bad we need to wait 10 months to have the residents vote to start the process.
After reading your comments Honest Fred, I wonder why people don’t want a Town Manager. This would stop some of the things that are happening at this fire department. I feel really sad for the rescue that they can’t even get the selectmen to agree to let them have 1 ambulance that truely works well. I think people are truely mislead about a Town Manager and what they do.
I am not sure why they need the truck and the answers I heard that day were poor. Very bad presentation. I agree, set aside money each year and then when you have enough, buy a truck. They just got a new truck, so if you set aside 50,000 a year, you could get another pumper like they just bought in 4 years.
I am still perplexed at what their thinking was spending over 2o grand fixing a truck with all brand new parts if they want to get rid of it. Couldnt the other 5 trucks help until the new truck came? That truck only goes on a few calls each year.
Hence the need for a Town Charter and a Town Manager. They have no rational thinking at all. No wonder the Town is in the condition it is.
My point was that maybe the young boys as it was put maybe didnt know all the info. Maybe they need a truck maybe they dont. I will wait till i hear info or see info from someone that knows all the info and then if it does go to vote i will make up my mind then. Just becaue they talk about it doesnt mean they are pushing for it at this time.
I dont know if there is infighting between the fire and rescue, but if so everyone is not going to get along all the time thats just life . They work good together when they need to and that is what is most important.
who says that if they did get a truck fixed that it came out of what rescue raised, the town does make money other ways also. The money rescue brings in should be in a different account so it can be tracked. for supplies they need.
I have read alot of the posting on this site and it is very good info. When we do vote on some stuff again it will help in making my mind up on how to vote .
Everyone has a right to how they feel and think. I respect what all of you think, just like all of you should respect what other people think even if its not the same as your.
No one is perfect we all make mistakes and how the fire truck was put out to all of you probable wasnt the right way . I wasnt there so i dont know.
Im just gonna wait and see what happenes.
wouldnt one thing that would help the town is if someone came in and redid the valve of the houses so people are paying what they should.
not every ranch the same, every farm and the same and so on. if you have a bigger and newer house why shouldnt you pay for it just because they may look the same from the outside doenst mean they are the same valve just wondering.
You’re absolutely right that we all have a right to how we feel and think. That’s what is so great about this website. We can all express how and what we feel, and we can all agree to disagree when we want to.
You made me think of a true story about the assessment of your houses and property and how the selectmen determine it. We were told that the selectmen determine the value of our homes and property from the road. I thought that awfully odd. I looked at my husband and said to him, how would they be able to do that? Our driveway is 900 feet long and you can’t see the house from the road. How can they make a valid assessment without inspecting the property up close? Not only is this a very inaccurate method to determine what your property is worth, but when we applied for a mortgage, a certified appraiser was sent by the bank to look our home and property over and determine it’s value. Are the assessors for Lebanon “taking a shot in the dark” as to what our homes are worth for the purposes of taxes? Is what we have to pay for taxes up to those people that have to “cram” their assessments into an afternoon, driving the roads of Lebanon and making a more than “quick” decision? What do the selectman think they can find out from this slip shod method of determining the value of our homes? Is this rational process???
I would like to take on some of the questions in the posts above. Our newest truck was bought in 2005. Since then we have also acquired our Squad truck, which is a hand-me-down from Lebanon Rescue, and another utility vehicle, a mini van, which was given to the Town by Chief Wood. The boat, motor and trailer were all given by different donors.
Beside the 2005 engine we have a 1997 tanker, and a 1990 tanker. Those trucks were all bought new, our 1978 forestry truck was bought used from the State of Maine in 2002. The engine we want to replace is a 1989 model that we received early in 1990. It recently underwent $10,000 in pump repairs in order to remain in service. I do not know if this work is warranteed or not. I believe the $20000 maintenance figure being talked about is what has accumulated over the last several years, including new springs last year, annual pump tests, etc. It is starting to show it’s age, and we would like to replace it before it becomes unreliable and/or expensive.
Mutual aid is a big part of our business, and it works both ways. Lack of volunteer firefighters is a problem in most of the surrounding towns, so we rely on help from each other. Yes, we frequently get called to Sanford and to a lesser extent, Rochester. But one or the other of them also comes to our town nearly every time we have a working fire or vehicle rescue. This past Sunday, we hosted a live training burn that involved 5 of our mutual aid departments- we work together and we train together. The 2005 engine is our “in-town” truck. Because of how it is equipped, we don’t like it to get tied up out of town. The other part of it is the ability to carry personnel. Firefighting is manpower intensive, and you are safer and more efficient when you carry your crew with you. You ride together, prepare together, and work together.
Another question raised was about the number of trucks. Our line-up is 2 pumpers, 2 tankers, a Forestry truck, the Squad, and the mini van. This equals 7500 gallons of water on wheels to a building fire. For a time in the 1990′s, we had 10,000 gallons of water on wheels. Since then, we have cut back the number of trucks. There are fewer firefighters now to run the trucks, and our maintenance is reduced. The flip side is that we rely more on receiving mutual aid than we used to. One writer compared us to Shapliegh. I don’t know how many calls they have up there, or if the number of fire trucks they have is adequate for their needs, and I don’t know any details about how much mutual aid they give or receive. But all towns are different, and what works for one may not work for the other. I do know that what we have in Lebanon right now works pretty well for us.
The price is up in the air right now. Buying a fire truck is a long process, with a lot of variables. When the 2005 pumper was bought, the money was approved, then we had to spec a truck to fit the amount. It wasn’t easy, but we got a decent truck for the price. The truck committee is looking at different trucks to figure out what we do or don’t need. The (roughly) $200,000 we spent in ’05 was low end at the time, and prices have gone up since then. There are things we will want that will make our job easier that will cost money. There are many things that are required, that we have no control over that will also cost money. We will certainly try to get the best value for our money, we are also taxpayers.
The fire department is taxpayer supported through property taxes. We only recently have begun to bill the insurance of non-resident drivers involved in car accidents that we respond to. This money is to go to the general fund, and I don’t know how much, if any has been taken in. We have no other income stream other than an occasional donation. Several times in the past we have had an article on the ballot to set aside money to build a new equipment fund, and it has always been voted down. All our services except as described above, are free of charge, so we rely on the goodwill of the taxpayers to keep us going. The bottom line is that it is the folks that vote that determine the level of service of the fire department or any other function of town government. All I could ask is that you cast your vote based on the facts.
If you would like to receive more information in person, we have department meetings at the East Lebanon Fire Station on Upper Cross Rd every Tuesday evening. You can also call Chief Skip Wood at 457-1242, or myself, at 457-1806.
Thank you
Eric Neubert, Deputy Chief
Lebanon Fire Department
Eric,
Thanks for sharing your insight!
It is always good to hear from people in the know and have some facts. I appreciate you taking the time so WE ALL can better understand the departments needs.
Is there anything we could do with the website to help do a volunteer drive for the Fire Department?
Is the Tuesday night meeting an ongoing weekly event? If so i will add it into the Event Calendar so people can be more aware. Let me know gstadig@gmail.com and thanks again!
I’d like to thank Eric for clarifying some of the issues for us.
In my opinion, residents around town, are too often kept out of the loop, therefore, remaining uninformed. It might be a good idea if the fire department could post reports on “ourvoice” for all to see.
Next, it seems as though the fire department has enough trucks, but the rescue squad has been turned down for a new ambulance, which is much needed here in town. There was NOT a vote by the people for one of the fire trucks to be repaired. It was stated at the 9/15/09 selectmen’s meeting that they were going to distribute monies for this, but NOT allow the rescue squad have a vote for a new ambulance. This, I feel, is very poor management on the part of the selectmen. It seems like they are “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, and in my own opinion, it looks like a lot of favoritism towards the fire department. I am not “downing” your department, because I’m sure you know what is best for the community.
I am questioning the responsibility of the selectmen.
I am confused by the Deputy Fire Chiefs comments. When you look at their website and every literature I see, it says its a 2006. He keeps referring to it as a 2o05? Is that misleading the citizens or is that he doesnt know what equipment he has?
unsure I was reading your posts and agree with you. I have seen the two departments at calls and they do work together very well.
I did see the presentation and they told me they need this truck now and it will be on the ballot in June. The selectmen set the ballot, so I am not sure if the fire department has already asked or not, I have not seen it in the minutes that are on-line. But the young men also did tell me the same thing that they had just put 20 thousand dollars into this truck very recently. Why?
City Slicker et al.,
The truck I have been referring to was delivered in 2005, I believe early in the fall. I’m not sure but I think it might be papered as a 2006 model year chassis, so I expect that’s where the discrepancy is.
Regarding the recent expenditure of money for repairs, the information I have covers the time from August of 08 to the present. Work done during this time was to replace front & rear springs and shocks, replace the charging system, do a complete chassis and pump service, replace a 2″ valve, replace a rear axle pinion seal, replace speed counter cable, replace rear brake cans, and a major pump repair to impeller, packing, and pump shaft. The pump repairs alone were nearly $11,000.
Why was all that done? This is an emergency vehicle that we rely on being in service. When it is broken, we have to fix it until the time when it is no longer cost effective to do so. The truck is 20 years old and is reaching the point where it will be more costly to maintain. There comes a time when the Chief and the Selectmen will decide that it’s no longer worth fixing a truck and it gets removed from service. When that happens, and there’s nothing to replace it, we get jammed up.
The fire service is such that we spend a lot of time and money to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. It’s costly, but necessary as our equipment has to be 100% all of the time. We are expected to respond when called, and deal with whatever problem we find on arrival. We can’t do that if our trucks are not in service.
I hope this clarifies my previous comments.
Eric Neubert, Deputy Chief
Lebanon Fire Department
I beleive if the fire dept says we need a new truck, who are we to argue. Get the facts out there and vote. Rescue says they need a new ambulance and no one questions it. Why doesn’t the fire dept get the same respect.
I also believe the rescue and fire dept should be all one dept and share all the revenue.
On a side note………
I think we should all take a collection and send “striveforchange” on a vacation so he/she can relax from all the trouble the town has seemed to have caused him/her. There is more to life than the town of Lebanon. Life is what “you” and “you” alone make it. I think Mr.Stadig would agree, being involved and trying to make change in our community is great. Consumed with writing several”blog” entries a day and complaining about town politics and town affairs is not. Get away and take a breather and come back stronger. There are many other things in life to enjoy. It also would be nice to read some- one elses opinion for a “change”.
Observing:
I can take constructive critizism. I appreciate what you have to say. I tell you what, I will stay away from the website and let us see how many people write an article. Also, if you only knew what has happened to my husband and I by some large land owners you would understand why I do what I do.
I absolutely agree I do need a vacation, but because of what has happened to us I can not afford one. WILL YOU PAY FOR IT?
Observing
I used to be a member of both the fire department and the rescue before I moved and I am still friends with members on both. Back before Sam took it over, there were 5 members. Rescue budgeted money went to pay fot the things the fd wanted, like fixing the old engine 2. The rescue always got shafted. MOST departments are not combined. Most larger communities are because they share full time manpower. The FD is not busy enough to warrant anyone full time. The two departments have very seperate jobs and you get more and are eligible for more grants seperate. Sam has done an incredible job bringing the rescue to where they are today and I wish I still was in the area. I do come up often to visit. A lot of times members may be members of both because when the fire department goes out once or twice a week and the rescue goes out 10-25 times a week, they want the action, I don’t blame them.
There has always been a huge jealousy issue because the rescue has become so successful.
I am very familiar with a lot of towns in that area that have FAR fewer trucks and the same call volume. I did my FF1 in Alfred, where they had 1 tanker, 1 pumper and 1 forestry. If they knew they had to put that much money into the truck they wanted to replace, then they should have used one of the pumper tankers in its place. I am curious if Mr. Neubert could provide a list of how many times each truck has responded to an EMERGENCY call, not their training or to get fuel. I am curious. When I was on, the truck at blaisdell corner never moved. Before the rescue got the building. i thought it was an abandoned fire station.
I applaud the rescue for being self funded because most towns cannot say that. And to share the revenue is the funniest thing I have ever heard, then they wouldnt be self funded.
Strive, I enjoy your posts and love this website. Its nice to see residents involved. I just hope next year a selectman gets in there that is a man of their word like Jason.
Samantha is a fulltime firefighter paramedic also, maybe she could take the fire chief position and revive what used to be a good department. Looking at the roster on the rescue, they seem to have more firefighters that are certified then the FD!! I asked Samantha before and she seemed to be very happy with just rescue though. They are two very different jobs like former member stated. But its nice seeing so much positive things like Samantha being the adminstrator of the year from the Governors office this year, congratulations – you make Lebanon proud!! I do not miss the politics of the fd at all and am happy I work for another town!
It was mentioned that someone above had a little camp fire. I know of Lebanon going to put out little warming or cooking fires, which is permitted under Maine State Law, which states:
PERMISSIBLE OPEN BURNING WITHOUT A PERMIT:
\”Residential use of outdoor grills and fireplaces for recreational purposes such as preparing
food.\”
Maybe you should know the laws before you speak!!! Sounds mis-leading like the Deputy Fire Chief keep saying that their new fire truck is a 2005 when its a 20o6!!!!
wh
what is the differnce if it is a 05 or 06 if it needs work it needs work no matter what the year.
would you like to have your house on fire and the truck not be able to pump water to put it out.
alot of past members who nothing good to say
both departments work hard. rescue does a good job getting money but what is the fire department to do to get money charge you when your house is on fire it not like they can bill the insurance like rescue can. most insurance dont even pay enough to rebuild your house or replace the items in it.
instead of people downing the volunteers in this town for fire or rescue who have given up much of their family time to help people in town why dont you just support them or leave them alone.
when rescue starting collecting from the towns people so they wouldnt have to pay if the insurance didnt maybe it should have been set up differnt if possible so that it wasnt going into the general fund.
we also vote on a yearly buget for the fire department for upkeep on equipment so how do you know that is not where the money has come from. before you blame the fire department for taken the rescue money maybe you should also check your facts the fire department doesnt have the check book do they.
thank you for your support unsure. thats where the money had come from our budget that every one had voted on. as for the new truck in this job there is no to many truck. Like Cheif Newburt said 7,500 is not a lot of water when we roll up to a house fire, we only have one part of town that is a hydrant distric other than that we have to pump from a pond or what other water we can use.
One more thing is the truck we are trying to replace is an 1989 custom cab. i have ridin in this truck a few time responding to calls in the winter it has an open back cab its freezing in the back plus it is no longer compliant with NFPA standerds.
former member also // Nov 6, 2009 at 10:57 am #25
If you payed attention to town ordinances that you as a tax pay voted on, you would see that the town voted about three years ago to require a permit for ALL outside fires.
As for the rest of you, the members of the Lebanon Fire Department and Lebanon Rescue Squad are a great group of people. They give up countless hours a year to help people in their time of need. Spending long nights away from their families, cold winter nights fighting fires or rescuing people from car accidents, all for free. Thank you!
As far as the need for a new ambulance or fire truck, the department heads make the recommendation to the board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee for the need to replace equipment. Both fire and rescue “spec” a truck that best meets the needs of the town.
Both agencies respond out of town several times a year to assist area departments during an emergency. Those towns also return the favor and respond to Lebanon. Utilizing area communities saves the town from having to buy and maintain special equipment such as Ladder Trucks, air support trucks, foam trucks, etc. and provides extra personnel at the scene.
Being a member of an area fire department I see that Lebanon Fire Department does have a lot of fire trucks, but there appears to be a need for them.
Being a rural community with only a hand full of pressurized and dry hydrants your town counts on your pumper/tankers to bring water to the scene of a fire.
The average set up at a fire scene requires at least three fire trucks. 1 truck to pump the attack lines to fight the fire, 1 truck to pump the required the back-up lines, and 1 truck to supply water to both. This is required for the safety of the Firefighters.
We are very fortunate to have great volunteers in town and there has been a lot of dialogue on the subject of a new fire truck and the ambulance has been brought into it.
I agree that both fire and rescue are different functions. The good thing is we do work together well at scenes. Most of the towns in York County and across the country do have seperate ambulances then the fire department. The nature of the work is different.
I have served on both departments, serving for about 15 years on the fire department making my way up to 4th in command and serving the past 14 years on the rescue and 2nd in command. We are VERY fortunate to have two great departments with good people in them.
Over the next few months, I am sure we will learn more about this new truck that they propose and I look forward to that.
seriously,with a 2/3 board of selectmen looking out for their own financial gain in this town what’s the chance of a new firetruck even being put on the ballot?! the residents submitted a petition for a new ambulance and it was rejected!!the last firetruck took over ten years to aquire because our board of selectmen couldn’t see the need for it.remember,new ambulance,new firetruck and police coverage are all taking money from the two selectmen.one fatting his retirement the other one running from bill collectors.for all these volunteers do the majority of the board could care less.keep up the good work because residents do notice and change is coming!!!
I want to thank everyone who has made comments on this site about the Fire Department acquiring a new truck. I am a Captain on the Fire Department and I am also the senior officer on the Truck Committee. As an organization, we are very humble people. We do the job when called upon, mitigate the problem, pack up and leave. That’s it! We get back to the barn, put trucks back in service and say “good job” to everyone and we go home to our family, or to our full time jobs. Herein lies the problem, the people that we help love us, but everyone else sees us as a small volunteer organization that that does not get many calls and just want to bleed the town dry and by new equipment all the time.
The reason we have a small call volume is because we do not respond to frivolous calls, like cars stuck in the ditch, accidents with no reported hazards etc… as we did in the past. We rely on dispatch to get accurate information and pass it on to us thereby eliminating the need for fire to go out and investigate. We are also very proactive with fire prevention at schools and daycares; children go home and tell their parents all about what they learned and are implementing changes to make their families safe.
We are also very proactive when it comes to fire permits. The State sets the class day every morning from early spring to late fall. Permits are needed even if it is raining, or there is snow on the ground. Burning yard debris is one of causes of woods fires and structure fires. The wind picks up, and blows burning embers into the woods, or fans the flames higher and pushes it towards structures. We would rather deal with a small problem, such as putting out a small unpermitted camp fire, than dealing with a much bigger problem, such as a woods or structure fire.
I, and most everyone else on the department, love that we have a small call volume. I hate going to house fires in the day or night when it’s below zero and everything is freezing up, I’m cold and miserable, all I want to do is go home and warm up. Or when it’s eighty degrees with ninety percent humidity, you have an extra forty pounds of equipment to protect you and all this heat is zapping your strength, you just want it to be over.
I invite you all to Central Station on Depot Road this Sunday, November 8, to meet with David Cobb from fire apparatus manufacturer Rosenbauer. Currently, we have met with two other fire apparatus manufactures. The common stereotype about sales men is that they are trying to sell you their product and can’t be trusted. I disagree, true they are trying to sell you their product, but all these representatives that we have talked to are members of fire departments them selves and understand the budget restraints all towns have. David Cobb was a former Selectman and Fire Chief. Following is an e-mail he sent me when I asked about those qualifications.
Capt. I was chief in Randolph a volunteer dept. I was chief in Lincoln a combination department. I was a selectman in Rando,ph. I retired from Augusta Fire as a fire fighter paramedic. I am a Lt. on Pittston fire.. I am the startup paramedic fire fighter for the City of Calais. Calais just started EMS into the fire department. I started in fire EMS in 1979. hope that helps. Call me if you need more info
Again, please join us this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. (there is a rabies clinic also going on),
to get any questions answered by us or Mr. Cobb. He is unable to bring a Demo truck to show us, but he will have pamphlets and pictures to show us. We will have the truck, Engine-1, that we want to replace there also for all to see.
Thank you,
Daniel Roy
Captain
Lebanon Fire Department
I was going to stay off of here until I read this letter. I just can’t keep my fingers quite.
I have a couple of questions? If you don’t like to fight fires in the summer time and you don’t like to fight fires in the winter time, what are you doing as Captain of the Lebanon Fire Department? This makes no sense to me. Maybe you should transfer to the rescue squad where they are willing to help people???????????
Sorry, I have a typo, instead of quite it should be quiet.
The problem is that most of their calls they do self generate, by driving around looking for people having lots of little campfires. When I look at their website, they have had 1 structure fire this year. How many times do all their trucks get used at the same time? When I lived in Lebanon, trucks sat their months and did not go on an emergency call. I also read other comments about having them their just in case and then I read the email from Eric Neubert about when you have big incidents, neighboring towns come over. Is $400,000 worth 1 call a year when they needed all the trucks, and I mean truly needed all the trucks? I see that you should have 3 pumpers on another posting, Lebanon has 4, so what is the point. If its broke, make the fleet smaller. Acton, Shapleigh, Alfred all have similiar call volume and do it with like 3 trucks total. I am glad I do not pay taxes in Lebanon. The FD budget was like 120,000 for 200 calls a year? Thats like 600 a call and most of those 200 they make up themselves, so I disagree with Dan Roy about “frivilous calls”. I see why they do lose a lot of good members. If I move back to Lebanon, I will join a neighboring department as well as I do not belong to the “good boy” club.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. This is mine.
I also was just reading through the comments and the Deputy Chief said he didn’t know if the over $10,000 they just sunk into a brand new pump for the pumper truck has a warranty??? I would think a chief would know before approving this. Did it go out to bid? Does someone on the department own the company that replaced the pump?
AMEN Strive!!!
Again, I invite you all tomorrow 10a.m. at Central Station and we will answer all your questions.
Daniel Roy
Captain
LFD
dan, thank you and all the volunteers on the fire department. it’s too bad the fire department goes unnoticed in town.it’s like everything else in lebanon residents could care less until their family is in need! as i’ve stated if the selectmen have no financial gain then your department might wait ’til we get a new board because your request will fall on deaf ears.talk about it but that will be the end of it.
I believe the money to fix the fire truck was NOT voted on by the people of Lebanon. Ronnie Patch and Bob Frizzell stated at the 9/15/09 selectmens meeting, that they “PROMISED” the monies to the Fire Department, to fix their truck.
I just don’t understand this. Oh wait, I guess I do. Can you say Good Ol’ Boys?
I heard a call for a possible unpermitted burn tonight on my scanner. Not only did the fire truck go with lights and sirens, but the fire chief did. It was reported as someone burning without a permit. Why do they risk peoples lives driving fast to someone (WHO HAD A VALID PERMIT)? Don’t most towns go with no lights or sirens?
I agree, we have too many fire trucks for a town our size.
and a better question, why didn’t the fire department realize that one of their members issued the permit, is there NO COMMUNICATION?
Scanner Listener et al.,
Please meet with us tomorrow at the fire station on Depot Rd. at 10a.m. and we’ll explanine why we do what we do.
Daniel Roy
Captain
LFD
do people in this town have nothing better to do then but down the volunteers in this town.
see alot of it hear about the fire department and have seen it also about the rescue. when the rest of you give up all the time they do then maybe you can start putting them all down.
get over it . you will get to vote on it. and make up you mind what you want and what you dont.
my god go out and smell the roses or pick leaves do something beside bad mouthing everyone in town.
The good thing is people can express their feelings. The other good thing is we do live in a democracy and CAN vote if it makes it on the ballot. I remember being at the station and having a now fire lieutenant who also works on the rescue as a driver bashing the rescue for wanting to replace the 17 year old ambulance. Several people have heard this same person say the rescue did not need a second ambulance. I find it amazing that they are one of the busiest if not busiest all volunteer departments in the state and the only one with a significant call volume with only 1 ambulance. I really enjoyed working on the rescue but could not take the clicks on the fire department, because I didnt agree with them, I was an outsider.
I dont think people are bad mouthing any volunteer. I think people are very proud of the volunteers and what they give. I think people are questioning why their taxes have to go up a lot to get another new firetruck. Thats the freedom of being able to express our feelings!!
Former Member Also:
In reference to your earlier post, the reason they went with lights and sirens fastly to a call is that is how they go to all fire calls. When I was on, even if it was a false call, we went with lights and sirens.
The reason they didn’t communicate and know that the person burning a little bit of brush had A LEGAL BURN PERMIT, was that this gave them a call that they could respond to lights and sirens. They do not get very many calls, so they love to call these in, even though the guy had a legitimate burn permit!!
I thought it was a good thing to have this web site to be able to share your feelings. I now have a resentment because I was told by someone on here that I was on here way too much. I needed to take a vacation. Now I have not only been silenced by the judicial system, the legal system and the Town government system, I have been stopped from sharing my views and opinions
on this web site.
I can tell you that I heard from another source that a member of the fire department said that Ronnie Patch was corrupt but that was ok because he knew stufff? Whatever that means. Also something was said about Jason Cole but I will not repeat it until I talk to Jason face to face.
No matter what is said about who, and I am sure things are said about a lot of people in public positions because there are jealous people, the point is people are talking about issues in town.
I do not agree myself that we need ANOTHER new fire truck. That is my opinion and I am only 1 vote. But the dialogue is good and people are talking, which is good. When people sit back and don’t get involved, things happen and our taxes go way up again. I supported the new 2006 fire truck but cannot support another one right now.
I am sure what you heard Strive about Jason is someone who is jealous and mad because he does stick up for us “normal, quiet” citizens that do not need financial gains to feel better. I have been very impressed with the work he does for the town and can assure you, there are a lot of very jealous people in this town!!!
Again, people are talking and sharing views. No one should be slammed or asked to take a vacation from posting. I enjoy your posts Strive and think you have been a victim from what I have read.
We live in a great community with good people. There are always people out there trying to better themselves or see what is in it for them. Thats why we need to keep communications open.
Thank you to this site, Mr Stadig and everyone who helped hand out info at the election. If you look, there are new people posting, so people are looking!!!
Boy a lot of commentary on this post…
I think the Fire Department needs to be more open and publish regular information. People don’t know what all they do because they don’t communicate it well.
As I said earlier there seems to be an adversarial relationship between the Rescue and Fire Departments, and this is unfortunate,and must change. We need our volunteers, and they are ALL important, none more so than the other.
If the Fire Department wants to make a case for a New Engine why can’t they be allowed to make a case? You can agree or disagree but ultimately they need the backing of the Budget Committee, Selectmen, and finally the Voter.
Strive and or Anyone else who posts an opinion or article here shouldn’t feel attacked or hold resentment. We need to be able to voice opinions in constructive ways and we should be able to have rebuttal. The process does help explain things, but if people reduce the points to name calling it doesn’t serve anyone and only makes people upset.
It is o.k. to question to things, doing so isn’t lack of respect, or unpatriotic, it’s a desire to understand.
Human nature shows people won’t agree most of the time, and that’s o.k. but there does need to be tolerance, and sharing in a balanced meaningful way.
It is about dialogue… and dialogue takes more than a voice of one, or one perspective.