GCFD Board seeking new Fire Chief

POMEROY-The Garfield County Fire District Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, February 4, 2020, at the fire station office, for their regular monthly meeting to finalize the plans for advertising for a new Fire Chief. The date for the meeting had been changed to the first Tuesday in the month for that purpose.

The text and job description to be used in the advertising was approved by the commissioners, and plans were made to begin the ads in the second week of February. The open Fire Chief position will be advertised in the East Washingtonian, The Washington Fire Chiefs Association website, The Washington Fire Commissioners Association website, the Lewiston Tribune, the Spokesman Review, the Indeed website, as well as Facebook, social media website.

GCFD Commissioner, Terry John, was elected as the chairman of the board of commissioners for 2020.

The board also agreed to hire Jim Melena to start drafting designs for the new signage that will be placed on the new fire station building. The fire station construction completion has been extended to the end of February due to some delays in finishing the drywall work, which is almost completed at the present. In addition, there is some plumbing and tiling work to be finished and electric fixtures to be installed.

The commissioners agreed to purchase racks and lockers for storing firefighter gear and equipment, as well as a washer and dryer for the department. They also approved a reimbursement payment to the contractors, Wellens Farwell, in the amount of $202,335.28 for the month of January, which brings the total paid to date of $1,017,698.50.

Plans for purchasing a new ambulance has been tabled until sometime in March. They plan to begin the process of ordering it then, but it will take about 280 days for the ambulance to be custom fit to suit the needs of the fire district.

According to Deedee Weymouth, GCFD Secretary, there are plans for an open house when the new fire station is completed, to give the public an opportunity to see the interior of the building. The specific date is still to be determined because of the ongoing work to finish the interior details.

The next regular meeting of the GCFD will be March 10, 2020, at 5 p.m., held at the fire station office.