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Fire Department out of Business, Fire Truck for sale
Grenelefe fire engine remains up for grabs
By STEVEN N. LEVINE
[email protected]
GRENELEFE -- With only nibbles locally, Grenelefe's former fire chief is making a national mutual aid call in an attempt sell the department's engine.
Directors of the former volunteer fire-rescue squad called it quits in April after neither Polk County, the majority of Grenelefe residents or the 1,000-acre golf and tennis resort's new owners, Westgate Resorts, would share the cost of manning the fire station off County Route 544.
The 20-year-old Engine 12, an E-One attack pumper, is the fire company's largest remaining asset which the manufacturer appraised at in excess of $40,000, said Scott Clugston, the former chief who was its only firefighter at the end. The good conditon of the fire station and the pumer can be attributed to Polk County Fire Services, which helped maintain them.
It was unclear what Westgate Resorts intended for the station. It was built by the resort's developer. The fire truck is an asset of the fire company board of directors and must be liquidated, Clugston said.
"That's what they appraised it for and that's what we want for it," he said.
Clugston intends to advertise in national trade journals and possibly over the Internet. Assets will be turned over to the housing associations that originally provided the seed money for the department, he said.
Several local fire companies including Davenport and Dundee showed interest in the fire engine. Dundee Fire Chief Chip Johnson even had the rig driven to town and backed into the fire house.
"It didn't have enough compartment space for storage," Johnson said.
Dundee is searching for an inexpensive way to replace its rescue squad with a truck that can respond to car accidents with power tools while maintaining the ability to pump water, Johnson said. Grenelefe's truck was primarily designed as a first response engine to house fires, he said.
Some items like automated external defibrillators have already been turned over to the homeowners association, Clugston said. He was unsure what the group planned. Homeowners association council president Gary Gardner, who attended the Grenelefe fire department's final board meeting, could not be reached this week.
By STEVEN N. LEVINE
[email protected]
GRENELEFE -- With only nibbles locally, Grenelefe's former fire chief is making a national mutual aid call in an attempt sell the department's engine.
Directors of the former volunteer fire-rescue squad called it quits in April after neither Polk County, the majority of Grenelefe residents or the 1,000-acre golf and tennis resort's new owners, Westgate Resorts, would share the cost of manning the fire station off County Route 544.
The 20-year-old Engine 12, an E-One attack pumper, is the fire company's largest remaining asset which the manufacturer appraised at in excess of $40,000, said Scott Clugston, the former chief who was its only firefighter at the end. The good conditon of the fire station and the pumer can be attributed to Polk County Fire Services, which helped maintain them.
It was unclear what Westgate Resorts intended for the station. It was built by the resort's developer. The fire truck is an asset of the fire company board of directors and must be liquidated, Clugston said.
"That's what they appraised it for and that's what we want for it," he said.
Clugston intends to advertise in national trade journals and possibly over the Internet. Assets will be turned over to the housing associations that originally provided the seed money for the department, he said.
Several local fire companies including Davenport and Dundee showed interest in the fire engine. Dundee Fire Chief Chip Johnson even had the rig driven to town and backed into the fire house.
"It didn't have enough compartment space for storage," Johnson said.
Dundee is searching for an inexpensive way to replace its rescue squad with a truck that can respond to car accidents with power tools while maintaining the ability to pump water, Johnson said. Grenelefe's truck was primarily designed as a first response engine to house fires, he said.
Some items like automated external defibrillators have already been turned over to the homeowners association, Clugston said. He was unsure what the group planned. Homeowners association council president Gary Gardner, who attended the Grenelefe fire department's final board meeting, could not be reached this week.
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