|
Thirteenth-district Congressman Brad
Miller, who has been touring the
district during the Congressional break
to learn about different areas and
topics of concern, came to Station #1 of
the Wake Forest Fire Department Monday
to hear about first responders.
Instead he got an earful
about the need for fire equipment from
Chief Jerry Swift and a homeowners group
from the Thompson Mill Road area,
funding for the post office from
Rolesville Town Manager Matthew
Livingston, and a request from
Rolesville Fire Chief Rodney Privette to
change the IRS code to allow
firefighters in non-municipal
departments to join the state retirement
system.
There have been three house
fires in six years in the subdivisions
along Thompson Mill Road, and two of
those within the last year totally
destroyed the homes. The homeowners
association in Waterfall Plantation
asked Mart Pattison and Dean Tryon to
head a committee to look at the fire
situation. As a result of what the
committee has learned, members are
supporting Swift’s request to the county
for a 3,000-gallon tanker.
The seven committee members
present Monday, Swift and Livingston
said the problem is the lack of
municipal (Raleigh) water lines in
watershed areas, water lines that can
support hydrants with sufficient
pressure to fight fires.
One of the problems at the
latest fire, this one on Mica Mine Lane,
was a lack of available water, Swift and
others said.
Swift said he was seeking a
federal grant for the additional
manpower he needs to man the new aerial
truck and the three future fire
stations. Miller said the president’s
budget has cut those funds every year
since the spotlight on 9/11 has turned
elsewhere. But, he said, Rep. David
Price is the chairman of a subcommittee
dealing with the Homeland Security
Department and has “the best seat in
Congress to deal with such requests.”
As for the large tanker,
Miller suggested Swift turn first to the
county commissioners, and Miller said
there is a different grant program for
fire-fighting equipment. “A pumper truck
is very much what that grant program is
about,” and he offered to write a letter
supporting the request.
Later, Miller also said the
federal grant may not be approved if the
county is not making a sufficient
effort, based on the level of taxation,
to provide the needed equipment. |
