Bois Blanc Fire Dept. Gets New Pumper

Bois Blanc Township officials, at a small ceremony at Township Hall Monday, July 17, accepted a $262,500 check from Michigan Rural Development Director Gene DeRossett of the United States Department of Agriculture for the purchase of a new fire pumper and final payment for a new airport snowplow. Pictured are (from left) Township Airport Manager Greg Dickerson, Mr. DeRossett, Township Supervisor Loren Gibbons, Township Fire Chief Mike Gahn, and Assistant Fire Chief Lani White. (Photograph courtesy of Cheryl Gahn)

Bois Blanc Township isn't accustomed to receiving new vehicles for its fire department, but with a $262,500 check received from U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the fire department is now equipped with a new pumper.

Residents celebrated in front of the Bois Blanc Township Hall Monday, July 17, with a check presentation by Michigan Rural Developments Director Gene DeRossett.

"This is the first brand new fire truck we've received since I can remember," said Township Treasurer Cheryl Gahn.

As is the case for many small townships, hand-me-down emergency vehicles normally make up the fire department arsenal.

The USDA funding also pays off the rest of the township's new one-ton Dodge pick-up truck with a v-shaped plow to be used at the newly extended airport runway, said Mrs. Gahn.

Township Supervisor Loren Gibbons said local resident Larry Pennel also contributed work in the design specifications of the pumper.

The township has had the plow since December 2003. The pumper arrived in late May.

Mr. Gibbons said the township will still use an old 1946 snowblower to help clear the runway. The new snowplow replaces the dump truck the township had been using.

The new pumper is worth about $214,000. It is equipped with a compressed air foam system, which significantly cuts down the amount of water needed to put out a fire. The new pumper will replace the township's 1963 pumper, however, said Mrs. Gahn, the old pumper will be kept around temporarily for back-up.

The department has 10 volunteer firefighters and six other fire emergency vehicles. Two of them are tankers, on loan from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.