POLSON — Six new applicants hoping to become volunteer firefighters was some good news Chief John Fairchild had for the Polson Rural Fire Board during its monthly meeting last Wednesday evening.

“In the history of this organization, never have we had this many applications at one time, so I think that’s something to be proud of,” Fairchild said.

Three of the potential volunteers were in attendance and Fairchild said he was excited about having new recruits.

“We also have two applications out to people in the Big Arm area, so we could have more,” he said.

Fairchild also presented on behalf of the five and 10-year planning committee. He highlighted some positive aspects of the board’s planning techniques, but noted there are negatives and that being prepared for issues down the road is an important step. The current “ad hoc” approach is not working, Fairchild said.

“We need to get this plan going because before we know it, the future will be here,” he said.

In other news, recently named trustee Dean Sams was sworn in and took a seat on the board during the meeting. Sams was appointed after sending a letter of interest to the county commissioners.

The most contentious point of the meeting came when discussing potential purchases for a new truck. Fairchild estimated it would cost around $30,000, hopefully less, to equip and build the truck, in addition to the price of the vehicle itself.

The sticking point between two factions, one headed by Jack Clapp and the other by chairman Fred Nelson, appeared to be whether to purchase a truck with a gas or diesel engine. Diesel would cost $6,000 more than the gas vehicle, but Clapp said the savings in fuel costs and other advantages made the diesel worth the difference. Nelson, on the other hand, argued that the expense of building the truck would make that $6,000 an important factor in deciding which to buy. Both vehicles, to be a Type 3 unit, would be built on a Ford F-550 model chassis. The base cost for the diesel engine would be approximately $42,000 while the gas would cost approximately $36,000. 

“Let’s do it right or let’s not do it at all,” Nelson said. “Let’s build a decent rig. It’s not going to be a parade vehicle with all the bells and whistles. We need a vehicle that we can justify to have bought to the taxpayers.”

In a close vote, the diesel group, including Clapp, Sams and Beth Hoel, won while Nelson and Steve Stanley, proponents of the gas engine, couldn’t garner enough support. Stanley originally made a motion to get the F-550 in gas, but when the motion failed, Clapp motioned instead for the diesel engine, with the resulting 3-2 vote in favor.

The rural fire board will meet next in October.