By John Walk
The York Dispatch
YORK CITY, Pa. — Backup generators at the four stations operated by the York City Department of Fire/Rescue Services are so old and small that one caught fire two months ago, according to Fire Chief Steven Buffington.
In August, fire station No. 1 at 49 S. Duke St. lost power. Its backup generator system kicked in and provided power to the station, but the generator is too small and overworked itself so much that it caught fire, said Fire Chief Steven Buffington.
“Luckily, the firefighters caught the problem in time. Otherwise, we would have had a fire at the fire station,” he said.
To solve the problem with the generators, the department is requesting that about $200,000 be included in York City’s 2011 budget - a portion of that would go to replace the generators.
The remaining money would go toward other renovations, including installation of a vehicle exhaust system at each station.
The requests are part of the department’s overall 2011 budget proposal of about $10.5 million, an increase from its 2010 budget proposal that requested about $9.3 million.
The department’s budget proposal was presented to the York City administration by Buffington and Deputy Fire Chief Dave Michaels.
The administration is holding budget hearings from city officials this week to help gather information to form its 2011 budget.
Aside from the upgrades, the department is also requesting to add a firefighter, something Buffington said is sorely needed.
So far this year, the department has spent about $500,000 to cover overtime costs in 2010, Buffington said. By adding a firefighter, Buffington said the department could eliminate “a significant portion of overtime hours” and “help the department operate more effectively overall.”
If the city were to hire an additional firefighter, the salary for the position would start at about $40,000, Buffington said.
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