CONOVER
Oct. 9, 2013
Courtesy of the News-Review and The Three Lakes News
Page 41
Conover
FROM PAGE 39
would die just when we needed it to
work for us,” said Capt. Richard Martinson. “The cost was shared through
the Forestry Department because,
when we fight wildfires, we’re either
reimbursed for our time or they give us
grants. So far, it’s been a great pump.”
Firefighters can use the pump to
draft water from area lakes using hard
suction hoses housed on the vehicle
and can fill their 150-gallon polyethylene tank to use as a water source.
The Conover Fire Department purchased a new imaging camera in 2011,
along with four rapid intervention
team (RIT) packs.
The imaging camera, which helps
the department detect hot spots, is an
upgrade from a previous model, according to Gary Vold.
“It’s a much better unit, which scans
a much bigger area,” he said. “When we
go into a building, if we have to go into
a scene that’s full of smoke, we aren’t
looking at such a small area.”
The larger unit cost a little more
than $17,000, he said, which the department was able to save through its
annual fundraising events.
In addition to the camera, the
Conover Fire Department bought four
new packs for its RIT. The packs include air tanks and self-contained
breathing apparatus.
“There are new backpacks, and they
all have the individual face masks
now,” said Gary Vold. “They’re in specialty trucks just for the rapid intervention team, the new teams set up in
Vilas County.”
New members, station
In 2010, the department concentrated on recruiting new firefighters, according to Gary Vold. Conover signed
on seven new members that year,
bringing the department to its maximum of 30 firefighters, a limit established by the town board.
The firefighters train in a new 30by 80-foot addition to the fire station
constructed in 2009, thanks to a
memorial donation from a local resident.
The construction of the $150,000
building began Oct. 1, 2008, and the
building was dedicated Sept. 20, 2009,
with a community open house.
The
department
received
a
$140,000 gift to fund the project from
Anita Soquist, a Conover area resident
who died June 15, 2005. The department funded the additional $10,000 for
the project.
Soquist taught first and second
grades at Northland Pines Elementary
School-Land O’ Lakes for 42 years. The
building, located behind the current
fire station along Highway K E., is
called the Anita Soquist Ambulance
Facility.
“The new building includes a classroom, offices for emergency medical
Conover Fire Department firefighters, from left, Randy Barnes, Jeff
Barnekow and Fire Chief Gary Vold display the new bladder bags
services (EMS) and the fire department, two rest rooms, a small kitchen
area and two drive-through bays for
the EMS vehicles,” said Gary Vold.
“The new garage is currently housing
the ambulance.”
The addition frees up much-needed
space in the fire station, built in 1998.
Gary Vold said the department is
looking at replacing its 1978 brush
truck in the future. The truck, used for
hard-to-reach locations, is the department’s oldest truck.
“We carry shovels, rakes, a pump
and a 250-gallon water tank on the
truck,” said Gary Vold. “We have one of
the heaviest forested areas in the county and are in the red zone for brush
and forest fires. The brush truck is
vital for attacking these areas.”
Other rescue trucks
One of the Conover Fire Department’s most important trucks is a
$302,000 engine/pumper, put into use
in 2008.
The department raised about
$100,000 to purchase the 2006 Sterling
chassis and the town took over the
payments on the remainder of the
state-of-the-art apparatus.
The engine/pumper replaced a 1991
model, though that truck is a backup
at the fire station on Highway K E.
The new engine is equipped with a
fully enclosed top control pump operator’s panel with crew seating for four
firefighters at the forward portion.
“The crew cab is equipped with a
heating and air conditioning unit for a
climate-controlled atmosphere,” said
Gary Vold. The truck is equipped with
a 1,250 gallons-per-minute mounted
pump and an injection-style foam sys-
and chain saws acquired this year. The equipment was purchased
through fundraising and donations.
—NEWS-REVIEW PHOTO
tem. The water tank is a 1,500-gallon
tank with a 20-gallon foam concentrate
cell.
“At the top of the apparatus, directly behind the crew cab, is an electronically controlled deck gun,” said Gary
Vold. “There are compartments on both
sides to maximize storage space.”
A ladder rack stores the ladders
above the apparatus when not in use
and electronically lowers to an accessible height at the side of the body. The
truck also is equipped with a 6-kilowatt hydraulic generator which supplies power to four 740-watt removable
lights.
Several Conover firefighters completed RIT training in 2008. They include Chad Lederer, Todd Vreeland
and Steve Vold. They are members of
the Eastside RIT with Eagle River,
Phelps and Land O’ Lakes. The team is
trained to assist other firefighters if
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