At the Feb. 19 meeting of the Falcon Fire Protection District Board of Directors, Fire Chief Trent Harwig administered the oath of office to two new firefighters, Austin Ragsdale and Alexandria Winkler.Treasurer’s reportThe treasurer’s report was tabled until next month’s meeting. Harwig said the report was not ready because of a computer problem.Chief’s reportHarwig reported there were 264 volunteer standby hours last month, and 15 prospective firefighters enrolled in the volunteer academy, including two from Calhan. He said some of the prospective firefighters were being fast-tracked because they had received certifications from other fire departments. He said the department has finally started receiving payments from ambulance billings. However, he said some payments were being held up by Medicare and Medicaid. The new ambulance is onsite and being stocked. The chief said the new medics manning the ambulance will start the week following the February board meeting. The new ambulance should start taking calls by the first of March, maybe sooner. He said AMR had recently taken a call that Falcon could not handle; it was only the third time that has happened since the service began.Old Meridian Road ProjectThe board learned that work on the Old Meridian Road and Highway 24 project should start the beginning of March. During the construction, sections of the road involved will be closed from time to time, and the contractor might have to provide temporary road access for Station 3.New fire stationThe board spent considerable time discussing options and possible floor plans for the new fire station that will replace Station 3. The floor plan will be basically the same as Station 4, with some modifications. They expect to have a pre-bid meeting toward the end of March, and award a contract at the April meeting. The board hoped that the outside of the building would be substantially finished before next winter.Title to Station 4At last month’s meeting, Harwig informed the board that he had made the final payment to the bank for Station 4. At the February meeting, the board authorized the chief to accept the warranty deed on the building.Stay connected with the Falcon Fire Protection DistrictWebsite: http://www.falconfirepd.orgFacebook: Falcon Fire DepartmentTwitter: @FalconFireDeptAlso on NextDoor.com
