Logan fire chief says aging trucks top department’s needs after new $1.6 million hall
Don Harrold, Executive Editor
editor@enterprisepub.com
Replacing aging vehicles, including grass rigs dating to the 1990s and a pumper bought 25 years ago, is the biggest need facing the Logan Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, Fire Chief Craig Charbonneau said. The department financed half the cost of its new $1.6 million fire hall and is now starting work on new trucks.
Charbonneau’s family moved to the area in 1968 from near the Illinois border, south of Iowa City. His two older brothers served on the department before him and talked him into joining in July 1986, after he graduated from high school. “But they were tough on me too,” he said of his brothers, whom he called his role models.
Charbonneau will complete 25 years as chief in December. “I’ve always thought that this is my way of giving back to the community,” he said. “... My thing was the fire department.”
Charbonneau said the department discussed paying members several years ago, before he became chief. “Some of them stood up and said, ‘If this ever becomes a paid department, they’re going to be gone,’” he said.
Charbonneau agreed with Blair’s fire chief that the issue comes down to pride. “That’s right on the head. I mean ... everybody wants money, but everybody knew coming into this that this was a volunteer service,” he said.
Unlike Blair’s department, which is city-owned, the Logan department is independent. “Here, we’re our own entity,” Charbonneau said. “... This was nothing to do with the city. ... They made this group, this organization, into your own ... you know, basically your own company. ... This is a volunteer, but we have to run this as a volunteer business.”
Charbonneau said he would not quit if the department became paid, though he opposes the idea. “I absolutely don’t think it’s in good interest to do that. Right now, we got a good thing going,” he said.
“I owe this to the community, to take care of them with my knowledge and stuff on this,” Charbonneau said. “What happens inside this place as far as a business, whether they say you’re going to get paid, whether you don’t, we’ll probably have ... turmoil and some trouble, but I owe it to the citizens to stay on this, to give them my knowledge and my care.”
“And I think that’s why our department is so strong,” he said. “We don’t ever forget what we’re doing this for.”
“We’ve been wanting a new building, probably well over 25 years. We just didn’t have the capability of getting land, and our finances were an issue,” Charbonneau said. The department was outgrowing its old building as equipment got bigger, he said.
At the time, the state was also talking about replacing volunteer departments with three paid services per county, and one member suggested a large new building might bring a paid service to Logan. “But the No. 1 reason was we were just outgrowing what we needed,” Charbonneau said.
“It’s not bragging. But it’s the state-of-the-art building,” he said. The hall’s podium was made and donated by Ryan Kastner, who lives outside town and is also building a front table for the department’s officers.
“Amazing dude. He donated that, all the time, all the effort,” Charbonneau said. “... We’re still a little bit out of being totally complete here, but we’re well ahead of the game.”
Buying a brand-new pumper was one of his biggest honors after becoming chief, Charbonneau said. “Well, now, you do the math: It’s 25 years old.”
“The miles on these trucks ain’t huge, but everybody knows you got to keep replenishing or you end up ... breaking down,” he said. Because the department is not part of the city, it could not bond the hall and had to finance it.
The department used grants, certificates of deposit and savings to cover half the cost. Charbonneau credited Washington County Bank for the loan. “We got a gentleman that’s in the office from Logan, and he knows what we do and respects us, so he was able to help us out,” he said.
“For what we do, our fundraisers, the community, taxation, we’re doing fine,” Charbonneau said. “We don’t have a terrible lot left on the building, but what we pay in payments a month, in a year, it kind of puts us kind of in a dilemma for vehicles.”
Personnel issues are not a major concern. “You know, every department — and we’re not exempt — you have your squabbles sometimes. But with the people we got in here, we always get it solved,” he said.
“Have we had to ... get rid of a few people? Absolutely,” Charbonneau said. A five-member board handles the department’s business, including discipline.
“This is kind of our — what we call our city council. They’re the ones that regulate our business. If there’s a problem, they get it solved,” Charbonneau said. “I’m the chief. I make sure that our operations are taken care of. ... But the problem-solving is through the board.”
“Well, you know, with any organization, any city council, you have 40 or 50 people in here. Sometimes you’re going to have anywhere from 40 to 50 opinions on things. So to say it’s perfect, it’s not perfect,” he said.
“But as I’ve said repeatedly, we tend to get it worked out. You know, it takes some talking through. We’ve got super, super intelligent people in here,” Charbonneau said.
State and federal rules require members to be trained like a paid department, in firefighting and as EMTs or paramedics. “When I started, you just had to learn how to put water on the fire and that was good enough,” Charbonneau said. “... Now, we got too many regulations that we have to go get certified.”
The department’s next fundraiser is its open house during the chamber’s Shiver Fest in November. “We open the fire hall up. We give fire truck rides on the old parade truck,” Charbonneau said.
The department serves pulled pork and seven or eight soups for a freewill donation. “We ask everybody in the membership to either do soups, do desserts, maybe help cook, and then we usually get 25 or 30 in here to serve,” he said.
