Local resident seeks update on fire equipment

A local Pigeon Forge man has been asking city officials there to move ahead with the replacement of a road tractor for the city’s fire department which broke beyond repair nearly a year ago. The tractor is used to haul a water tanker to areas of the city and county where fire hydrants are not immediately available. Richard Balk, a resident of the Upper Middle Creek area, approached the board for a second time about the tractor at the City Commission meeting on Monday. “We’re all very concerned about this,” said Balk at the Feb. 23 meeting. “That tanker is our lifeline,” he added. At the Jan. 9 meeting of the Pigeon Forge City Commissioners, Fire Chief Denny Clabo asked the board to approve a bid on a heavy duty road tractor for the city’s volunteer fire department. The bid presented, however, was not exactly in accordance with the specifications sought for the machinery. While the tractor presented in the bid has less horsepower then the specs called for, it also had a lower gear ratio which Clabo said would make up for lacking horsepower. The commissioners decided to defer approval of the bid until more information could be obtained about the needs of the fire department. Commissioner Howard Regan voted against deferring the matter. At the commissioner’s next meeting, on Jan. 23, Balk asked the board about the tractor which was not on the agenda that night. City Manager Earlene Teaster told Balk that the item had been deferred until a study could be completed to determine if the truck was needed. At this week’s meeting, Teaster told Balk that she had just received a draft of the study and that further action on the matter would come in two to three weeks. At the same time, Commissioner Sexton told Balk that the city had fire trucks available to handle his area.