Officials in Caldwell, Idaho are evaluating whether the town’s fire department has adequate resources in the wake of a fire at the Darigold dairy products plant earlier this month.
Eleven fire departments joined forces to extinguish the fire, which resulted in substantial property lost but no casualties. A nearby town had to send its ladder truck to the scene because Caldwell lacks staffing for a ladder truck of its own, which has been mothballed for several years. Firefighter Will Gigray, the local union president, told the Idaho Press that national standards suggest Caldwell’s department should have 65 firefighters, while it currently has 40 on the job.
“The real question Caldwell taxpayers should be asking is, why doesn’t your fire department have an adequate ladder truck? Or the personnel to staff it?” Gilgray said. For more, visit the Idaho Press.
