Things always seem to work better when people work as a team and this is being demonstrated with a deal between the fire departments in Grand Forks and Midway.
Grand Forks Fire Rescue will sell a water tanker vehicle (on behalf of the rural fire protection district), breathing apparatuses and fire hose at a reasonable price to its counterparts in Midway and Midway Fire Chief Walt Osellame will in return give free training and certification for Grand Forks.
Osellame is a certified trainer with the College of the Rockies so the Grand Forks department will not only get free training but won’t have to worry about paying to have a qualified person to come in to help with assessments.
Osellame says it would be nearly impossible for his department to get a new tanker vehicle as the Midway Volunteer Fire Department is a small department in a small community and purchasing the vehicle from Grand Forks is more manageable.
The Grand Forks department now uses a different model of breathing apparatus and while cynics might see it as unloading equipment to Midway, the apparatuses are still in good condition and are exactly the model that the Midway firefighters use.
As Osellame said, the Village of Midway is small and purchasing brand new equipment is not always financially viable as things like new firefighting vehicles can carry a price tag in the millions of dollars.
Grand Forks is getting a new vehicle and rather than taking a good, working vehicle and using it as a display or even scrapping it, it is selling it to a department that can make better use of it.
Fire service is crucial, especially in rural areas like Grand Forks and Midway and having equipment in good, working order can save lives and it is better to be prepared because emergencies can occur at any time. Osellame says a number of different departments are working together collectively and that is a good thing.
– Grand Forks Gazette