SUGAR CAMP
Oct. 9, 2013
Courtesy of the News-Review and The Three Lakes News
Page 53
Sugar Camp
FROM PAGE 51
through a Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
50/50 matching grant. The Sugar Camp department
put $8,115 toward the more than $17,000 purchase.
“This replaced our old pump, which had an old
stainless-steel homemade water tank,” said Goeldner, who added that the unit would streamline the
fire-fighting process and improve wildland fire-fighting capabilities.
“In theory, it’s a little more efficient with newer
technology,” he said. “It’s got a pre-connect hose reel,
and once we fire the pump up, we don’t have to hook
anything to it. We’re going to have a mount on the
side where we’ll have access to 200 feet of hose.”
Goeldner said firefighters also can take conventional hoses and hook them to a discharge to combat
fires.
Department of the Year
Sugar Camp was named Fire Department of the
Year by the Oneida County Firefighters Association
in 2010.
The award recognizes the department for its commitment and dedication to the citizens of Oneida
County.
In 2010, the department also expanded its underground water tank, more than doubling its total capacity to 24,000 gallons of water, giving firefighters
the ability to return to the station for water instead
of relying on lakes.
“It’s still in place, it’s still operating for us and it’s
working well for us,” said Goeldner. “Having this underground water supply is a quick way for us to obtain water without having to go to a lake or drill a
hole in the ice. It helps speed up our response time.”
In 2009, the department acquired a new pumpertanker truck. The 2008 Pierce Contender replaced a
1980 Ford engine. The new engine meets the National Fire Protection Agency 1901 standard.
“A new feature of the Pierce Contender is onboard
Class A foam, which will help with grass and structure fires,” said Goeldner.
“The engine cost of $207,000 was budgeted
through the town of Sugar Camp,” he said.
That same year, several firefighters from the
Sugar Camp department received specialized training from the Department of the Interior in the Horicon Marsh area, bringing information back to train
other department members. Training also is held
with the Oneida County dive team.
Also in 2009, the department received an $8,700
grant which it used to purchase 35 sets of wildland
fire gear. This included a number of suits and helmets as well as 50 gallons of Class A foam.
In 2007, the department received a $5,800 grant
from the Forest Fire Protection and Volunteer Fire
Assistance grant programs administered by the
DNR.
The monies were used for personal protective
equipment, forest-fire training and forest-fire suppression tools and equipment.
Sugar Camp also added a cadet program that year
for young recruits to gain experience with the department. Under the program, cadets get the s