The Salem Fire Protection District has a new engine designed to fight fires in hard-to-reach areas.
Salem Township provided $10,000 of the total $25,000 cost.
Township Supervisor David Coryell says the money came from interest earned by the township on its funds, with no tax money involved.
“With us, it was the fact that the fire department had a need and serves in our district,” Coryell said. “Not only will it affect the people of Salem Township but also surrounding areas that go with the solar farms. We thought this machine would be helpful to them and to the residents here, not only the solar farms but also the Citation Oil districts, brush fires, anything that our residents need, this machine should be able to help satisfy the need of the fire station and get more manpower out.”
Salem Fire Chief Jim Cerny says there have been no issues yet at a solar farm, but the layouts are concerning.
“The solar fields don’t really have a good way of controlling the undergrowth that grows underneath the towers that hold up the panels,” Cerny said. “The panels are close enough that the larger trucks like pickup trucks and larger can’t get between them. The UTV makes it available that we can drive between those panels in case there are grass fires and things burning underneath.”
The UTV is equipped with a 55-gallon water tank and five-gallon foam container. It is on a trailer that can be pulled to a fire scene.
Fire Trustees President Mike Squibb thanked Salem Township and others who made donations to make the newest Salem Fire Protection vehicle a reality.
