Voters to decide on Carlisle Township Fire Department replacement levy

Carlisle Township fire Chief Kevin Dembiec said he hopes residents will continue to support the department by voting for Issue 8, a replacement levy that will pay for updated equipment and other operating expenses Nov. 3.

“The voters have been very generous in the past with supporting the department,” Dembiec said. “They recognize the value we have been giving them and hopefully, they will continue to support us.”

Currently, voters are paying $48.98 per year per $100,000 of home valuation for the 1.75-mill levy. The proposed replacement levy will increase the millage to 2.25-mills, and raise the amount homeowners pay by $29.77 to a total of $78.75 per year for five years. The replacement levy will generate $379,237 per year for a total of $1,896,185, according to the Lorain County Auditor’s Office.

Carlisle Township’s Fire Department serves an area of about 24 square miles and as of the 2010 census, about 7,500 residents with 21 firefighters on call at any given time.

Dembiec said several key pieces of equipment firefighters use will need to be replaced in order for the Department to keep serving the community as effectively as possible.

“Currently, our air packs are on their last cycle before they are deemed obsolete,” he said.

The Department’s current air packs —– purchased in 1997 — hold the air tanks ,which allow firefighters to breath while they are inside a smoke-filled building. In 2018, the newest model pack will be introduced and the older model firefighters are currently using will no longer be certified and taken out of service, Dembiec said.

Pants and coats, or turnout gear as firefighters call it, are another point of concern for Carlisle’s firefighters.

“Half of our department’s turnout gear is reaching the end of its life cycle,” Dembiec said.

Every 10 years, firefighters must replace their gear due it breaking down from use. Turnout gear is comprised of three layers: a waterproof membrane; insulation layer; and flame resistant Nomex layer.

“Basically, what happens is the fabrics break down,” Dembiec said. “Once the membrane rips you can only do so many repairs. Ultraviolet light damages the Nomex layer and it starts to fray and can only be fixed so many times.”

In addition to personal equipment, the Department is looking to replace two aging fire trucks. Grants secured in the past have already helped replace three vehicles, but the Department has not been able to secure a grant to procure the last two trucks.

“We have applied for a multitude of grants, but they are getting extremely hard to get,” Dembiec said. “There is a lot of competition. The grants are nationwide.”

If voters choose to support the levy, it will give the Department some breathing room, he said.

“We have stretched the dollar as much as we can,” Dembiec said.