Acting Fire Chief Shawn Cordwell shows Oxford selectmen Thursday night his old defective firefighting coat during a discussion about safety gear for the department. The board voted to spend $25,289 for six coats, five pair of pants, two pair of boots and 10 helmets recommended by a state workplace safety consultant team. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
OXFORD — The town will spend close to $40,000 this year, two-thirds more than was budgeted, to replace turnout gear for the Fire/Rescue Department, selectmen decided Thursday evening.
Four sets of gear and two pair of boots were ordered in July for $14,350. However, a more recent inventory of protective clothing used by several firefighters revealed other serious issues with wear and tear.
Town Manager Adam Garland requested the Maine Department of Labor send SafetyWorks!, its workplace safety consultant team, to inspect all the department’s in-service safety gear. SafetyWorks! recommended six additional coats, five pairs of pants, two pairs of boots and 10 helmets be replaced.
Acting Fire Chief Shawn Cordwell showed his coat to demonstrate some of the defects identified by SafetyWorks! He said delivery from each of the three gear manufacturers contacted varies from four to seven weeks to more than four months.
“Globe has the particular cut of material needed in stock,” Cordwell said. “All the material the providers use is the same. Globe, which is the largest manufacturer I contacted, has it prestocked so we are able to get it in a much shorter time frame.”
Globe estimated it could fulfill the order in 30 to 45 days. Innotex said it would take up to 18 weeks and Veridian 24 to 28 weeks, Cordwell said.
Garland asked the board to waive the bid process and accept the estimate with the shortest turnaround time. Globe’s price for the gear totals $25,289.
The gear ordered in July from Veridian has not been delivered.
Cordwell said Veridian and Globe have supplied most of the equipment Oxford firefighters use.
“It’s important to replace this equipment,” Garland said.
The money will come from the fund balance reserve account.
The board unanimously voted to waive bidding and order the gear from Globe.
In other business, Code Enforcement Officer Kingston Brown presented a safety inspection report on a longtime problem structure at 260 King St. and advised it be demolished.
Problems with the house date back to at least 2013. The owner has been warned several times it is out of compliance with town building codes, only to allow it to further degrade.
Garland told selectmen he is consulting with the town’s attorney to make sure documentation and procedures are in order before scheduling a public hearing on the issue.
If the owner does not satisfactorily answer previously cited violations and the engineer’s report recommends demolition, selectmen will decide whether to proceed with it and place a lien on the property to recover the expense.
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