The Adair Rural Fire Protection District in Benton County is asking voters this November to pay for a bond to purchase new equipment.
The 25-year bond would raise property taxes by $0.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A household that has a $200,000 assessed property value would pay about $6.67 per month, or about $80 a year.
The funds would be used to buy a new primary fire engine, a fire engine specialized for areas where the town meets the wildland, and other firefighting equipment.
District Chief Aaron Harris said the current fleet is aging. The main fire engine that responds to emergencies is 24 years old.
"And when it's down, we move the 39-year-old engine to the main station, and we respond out of that,” said Harris.
He said new equipment will be easier to repair. When one of the current fire engines needs repairs, it can take several weeks.
“We have had to borrow a reserve engine from a neighboring department, and we had it in our station for over a month,” said Harris.
The Adair Rural Fire Protection district covers 18 square miles and a variety of environments including Adair Village, the Coffin Butte Landfill and surrounding wildland.
