SOUTHWICK – At the special town meeting on Tuesday night held at the Southwick Regional School auditorium, seven different articles were voted on by people living in Southwick who registered to vote for the meeting.
The vote to appropriate and transfer a fund of $5,000 from the town to the Southwick Fire Department for the Apparatus Study was voted in favor unanimously on Tuesday.
The fire department was previously awarded a $10,000 grant from the MIIA (Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association) before being awarded the $5,000 at the town meeting.
Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson
The grant money goes towards a fleet assessment study of the fire department’s apparatus that Chief Russ Anderson wants to carry out.
“It’s a great award to get so we can help diminish the costs of the fleet,” said Anderson.
Currently, the Southwick Fire Department has a fleet of 10 vehicles that range from four to 27 years old.
According to Chief Anderson, the study will review the age of the equipment, mechanical condition, repair history, operational usage, and other issues like call volume and staffing.
There seems to be a good value in conducting the fleet study.
“It helps get us a future forecast for the apparatus we need to replace,” said Anderson.
If there are any further questions regarding the study, Chief Anderson can be reached at 413-569-6363.
