By Erin Smith
Hurricane Florence damaged and destroyed a lot of properties in Bladen County. The town of Bladenboro saw their business district flooded and the fire department lost three vehicles due to the storm.
The Bladenboro Town Board unanimously voted Monday night to replace two of the lost fire trucks with one truck. A third fire truck is slated to be replaced in 2019.
Fire Chief Jackie Coleman informed the board that during Hurricane Florence, the Bladenboro Fire Department had some issues and lost three fire trucks. He added no firefighters were injured in the incidents.
“I’m coming to you tonight to ask for permission to go after a new fire truck,” said Chief Coleman.
The town has received insurance payments on the fire trucks that were damaged. Chief Coleman said right now, the department only plans to replace one truck and they will replace the second truck in 2019.
He said the department plans to delete the use of one of the damaged trucks because it was used infrequently.
“This is a small quick attack truck we are going after now. It runs small brush fires and we are helping the county ambulance service now with what they call 9 Echos,” said Chief Coleman.
He explained 9 Echos are calls when someone is in cardiac arrest and they are performing CPR. Chief Coleman said when these types of calls come in to the 911 call center, they page law enforcement, the rescue squad and the fire department.
“We’ve got several people on the fire department that are EMT certified,” said Chief Coleman.
He told the board he is seeking to replace a 1999 F-350 truck which was crashed during Hurricane Florence when firefighters were responding to a call. Chief Coleman said the fire truck was traveling in the vicinity of the former Spaulding Monroe School when an elderly couple were driving just in front of the truck started to turn right. Chief Coleman said the firefighters started around the turning vehicle on the left when the elderly couple traveled back to the left. He said the firefighters were committed to the left lane and took evasive action to avoid striking the car and the fire truck ended up in the canal. No one was injured in the incident.
Chief Coleman said the second truck to be replaced is a 1986 Brush Truck that was flooded during the hurricane. He said he drove the truck to assist an ambulance that had gotten stuck answering a call. Chief Coleman said he was with the ambulance about 45 minutes and was returning to the fire station when he drove into a flooded area and the water stalled the truck. Chief Coleman said he was able to exit the truck and swim to safety. No one was injured.
Chief Coleman presented a quote from Performance Automotive in Clinton for $47,989. He told the board the town has received insurance payments on all the trucks that were lost and there are enough funds to pay for the new truck. The board voted unanimously to approve the purchase.
He told the board he will be back in 2019 with a quote for a larger truck to complete the replacements.
In other business:
*The board voted to approve a rezoning request for 15498 NC Highway 131. Town Clerk Melanie Hester said the property was zoned for R-20 and the property owner wanted it rezoned for neighborhood business so his wife could put a beauty shop on the property. The board unanimously approved the request.
*The board unanimously approved a Engineering contract with LKC Engineering for the Community Development Block Grant-I services contract.
*The board unanimously approved a bid awarding the replacement of the upstairs windows in the police department building to The Glass Shop in Lumberton. The contract is in the amount of $4,566.62.
*The board heard from Kay Meismer regarding an electronic gaming facility that has opened in Bladenboro. He told the board that it is illegal to gamble in North Carolina. Mr. Meismer asked if the business had to have a license and Town Clerk Melanie Hester reminded the board the State of North Carolina removed the town’s ability to charge a privilege license fee. Town Administrator Blake Proctor said the town cannot deny them the right to operate but they can use zoning to regulate where they can locate and the distance they have to maintain from churches and schools. Mr. Meismer encouraged the board to consider writing by-laws regarding electronic gaming.
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