ESD2 responded to 8 fires, 5 auto accidents in month

Medina County ESD2 board president Todd Summers, left, and vice president Jeff Howard and treasurer Ken Nighswander review documents during the ESD2 board meeting on Oct. 20. (Photo by Anton Riecher)

By Anton Riecher
Surplus self-contained breathing apparatus gathering dust at the DuBose Firehouse in Devine will soon find a new home in the South Texas community of George West after the Medina County Emergency Services District No. 2 board of commissioners voted Oct. 20 to accept a $50,000 bid for the used equipment.
Asked why the gear netted almost $10,000 less that a similar surplus equipment package sold earlier this year, Battalion Chief David Powers said offer from the George West Volunteer Fire Department was the most the small community could afford to make.
“That’s the amount of money they had to spend,” Powers said. “They wanted to make an offer on it.”
George West is the county seat of Live Oak County, population 11,335. George West VFD is the largest of only four volunteer fire departments covering the county’s 1,079 square mile expanse south of Atascosa and Karnes counties.
Board president Todd Summers said the surplus SCBA has gone unused for nearly two years. The $50,000 bid from George West is the best offer currently on the table.
“We’re not going to use it and no one else is buying it,” Summers said. “They (George West) need it. We’re trying to give back and help where we can.”
The surplus equipment includes 12 SCBA packs or harness assemblies, 23 high pressure cylinders to hold compressed air, 12 face masks and a rapid intervention team (RIT) equipment bag.
On a motion by board assistant treasurer Jerry Stevens, seconded by board treasurer Ken Nighswander, the sale was approved by a 4-0 vote. The board is currently without a fifth member since the resignation of board secretary Abigail Beadle earlier this year.
Self-contained breathing apparatus continued to dominate the agenda at the October meeting with the board authorizing the purchase of a $6,750 SCBA fill station.
An SCBA fill station is part of a high-pressure system used to safely refill breathing air cylinders. Purchased from Angleton, TX-based Morton Morrow, Inc., the new station can simultaneously fill three SCBA cylinders, one more than is standard for most fill stations.
ESD2 already owns a SCBA compressor compatible with the new fill station, completing the system. The purchase also includes…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!