VERDIGRIS, Okla. — The people who make up the Verdigris Fire District are eyeing new facilities and some new equipment to keep pace with the growing community they serve.
That’s if Verdigris voters say 'yes' to a $13.5 million bond issue. 2 News took a tour of the existing facility and spoke with Fire Chief Mike Shaffer.
The Verdigris Fire District is housed in an unassuming building off the highway. Its size is comparable to a large house. It has three bedrooms for five firefighters.
"Through the years, we’ve tried to be good stewards of the district’s equipment and facilities and be able to expand them as much as we can, but we’ve finally got to a position now where this building just can’t be expanded anymore," Shaffer said.
The rest of the space is used to house the fire trucks, which are already expensive and have to be specially manufactured to fit under the 10-foot-tall garage doors.
Due to the limited building space, the fire department can only employ a limited amount of people. Shaffer says if they’re able to get a new station, they expect to hire more firefighters.
"Our district, our community is growing," Shaffer said.
Census data shows an 8.3% population growth between April 2020 and July 2022.
Right now, the people within the fire district are making the most of what they have. What gets lost in translation, Shaffer says, is the price of the equipment to go along with the fire trucks themselves.
"Just a radio that a firefighter depends on to be able to communicate, on a fire scene, or an emergency scene, it’s a $4,000 piece of equipment, and that’s per each firefighter," Shaffer said.
That is pennies compared to some other tools. Each fire truck is equipped with jaws of life – with a price tag to boot.
"We have tools that literally between the two of these can be upwards of $40,000, $50,000, even $60,000," Shaffer said.
Otherwise, the current station has one shower to share among the five people on any given shift, along with a backup truck from the 1990s.
The $13.5 million bond will cover the purchase of two fire trucks, a new fire station, a new training facility, and new equipment.
"Our position is to educate and inform and allow our district residents to make an informed decision on Oct. 10," Shaffer said.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
