The Monroe Charter Township Fire Department has made several upgrades recently, in terms of both its equipment and its personnel.

The department recently acquired a new state-of-the-art fire truck. The new truck is packed with safety and user-friendly features such as back-up, side-view, and bucket cameras, a dual-control ladder that allows movement controls for both the person in the bucket and on the ground, and improved downrigger designs.

Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis. built the new truck, which has a 2,000-gallon water tank, a 100-foot ladder, and a 4-man cab. Monroe Township Fire Chief Mark Cherney said these features will help firefighters perform their jobs safer and more efficiently.

“We have the camera on the bucket so we can see exactly where we need to spray the water,” he explained, adding that the new ladder design allows much more flexibility and angular positioning. “It doesn’t matter how you position the truck; you’ve got coverage all around.”

The new truck replaces a previous vehicle that the department had been using since 1988. Cherney said that the old vehicle, which was sold recently to a collector, had become a maintenance money pit. When he became chief in 2019, Cherney approached the township about a possible millage to fund a replacement truck.

The township agreed to the millage, which passed and enabled the department to purchase the truck for $1.5 million. Cherney noted that the department was able to save some money on the purchase by getting in early before prices increased.

“If you bought that truck today, you’re probably looking at $1.7 or $1.8 million, with the increase of supplies, demand, and parts” he said. “We ordered it just in time before they put a 3% increase on the truck, in January 2021.”

“We saved the township and the taxpayers a lot of money,” he added. “I want to thank the township citizens for voting for this millage.”

Cherney said that he hopes that the new purchase will be well worth the money in the long run.

“This is a truck that is going to be here quite a while,” he said.

While the truck has not been used on any calls yet, Cherney said that the department is nearly finished with training, provided by Pierce, to officially have it ready.

“We’re getting it loaded with equipment and hose,” he said. “I hope within the next week or two, we’ll have it actually responding.”

Cherney said the truck will be used for both township fires and mutual aid requests when needed from other nearby departments.

The fire department, which has seen an increase in calls over the past few years, also recently added some new firefighters to its roster.

During its July meeting, the township board approved adding three new firefighters: Daniel Liddy, Jarret Cicero, and Robert Origel, and swore in Liddy, Cicero, and Scott Livermore. Livermore was previously approved as a training firefighter and was granted the sergeant rank in Feb. 2022.

Origel was not sworn in yet because he has not finished certification training yet, which he is currently doing. Liddy and Cicero came to the department already certified as firefighters. Monroe Township Supervisor Alan Barron performed the swearing-in ceremony and readings.

Cherney said that the new hires will be paid on call and will respond to calls when needed. He also said that the department is always looking for new talent from Monroe Township.

“We’ve been looking at ways to hire some more firefighters to work more part-time shifts on duty,” he said. “We’re trying to do something to negate this busy life that we live here.”