PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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30 September 2024
Wildland Protective Clothing
The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District is pleased to announce the purchase of new Wildland Protective Clothing (Brush Gear) made possible through a $10,500 donation by Chris and Kerri Wilson on behalf of the Wilson Family Foundation.
Mr. Wilson contacted Fire Chief Joseph LaPlant in early summer and offered to make a donation for Station #3, which had recently been rehabbed. Chief LaPlant advised the station had recently been updated and Mr. Wilson offered to make a substantial purchase of any equipment for the District that may be needed instead. Sunrise Beach FPD last purchased brush gear approximately 10 years ago through a Missouri Department of Conservation Grant. That purchase included fire resistive shirts, helmets and coveralls.
The funds from this donation were specifically ear marked for the new brush coats and helmets, with remaining funds left over, the District purchased helmet lamps to affix to the new helmets. The new coats feature zippers instead of buttons, reflective trim and ample pocket space for equipment firefighters carry on wildland fires.
Each firefighter will receive a new brush coat, helmet and headlamp. This new equipment will not only increase the heat protection of the firefighters but will also make them more visible at night.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson toured Station #3 on Sunday and viewed the new equipment with Chief LaPlant, Lieutenant Mettler and Firefighter Balaban.
The District would like to thank Chris and Kerri Wilson as well as the Wilson Family Foundation for their generous donation that will greatly enhance firefighter safety for years to come!
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Office Hours
Monday – Friday
8:00 am—4:00 pm
Contact
Phone 573-374-4411
Fax 573-374-4413
office@sbfpd.org
Address
30 Porter Mill Spring Rd
Sunrise Beach, MO 65079
Board Meetings
Third Monday of each month Starting at 5:45 pm
ISO Class 4/10
This rating varies based on location, please contact the office for details.
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Sunrise Beach FPD and Lake Regional Hospital
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
19 June 2024
Special Operations Unit 1299
The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District is proud to announce that we have placed into service a Special Operations Trailer. The trailer was transferred to us by Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach.
Originally purchased by the Missouri Hospital Association after 9/11 using a Homeland Security grant, the trailer was a regional asset based at Lake Regional that could be deployed anywhere in the state under the funding guidelines.
Lake Regional assumed responsibility for the trailer when the grant ended. Today, through this agreement with Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District, the trailer will get a new life as a Special Operations Trailer.
The unit features VHF, UHF and Digital radios, satellite communications, Wi-Fi and is climate controlled. The unit has been designated as Special Operations Unit 1299 and remains a deployable asset for the state if needed. This unit can be used for command and communications, as well as a rehab unit for large scale incidents and training.
The unit was transferred to Sunrise Beach FPD at no cost and communications equipment already owned by the District is being used to upgrade the unit to meet regional needs. The unit is large enough to carry any additional equipment needed and the District’s side by side utility vehicle if needed.
Our District is proud to have partnered with Lake Regional Health System to ensure this valuable asset remains in the Lake Region to serve our residents, visitors and business owners for years to come. S.O.U. 1299 was placed in service this week.
Pictured is Makinley McCaffery from Lake Regional Hospital and Fire Chief Joseph LaPlant, Sunrise Beach FPD.
PRESS RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6 June 2024
New Brush Truck In Service
The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District is proud to announce that we have placed into service a new Brush Truck. Designated BRUSH 36, the unit features a 300-gallon water tank, pump, hand tools, EMS equipment, Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and two Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). This unit will handle EMS responses out of Station #3 as well as brush fires for that area.
Over the past year the District has worked to have a brush truck assigned to each of the three full-time stations. By running the brush trucks on medical calls, the District reduces fuel, mileage and maintenance costs on the full-size fire apparatus.
This unit also features a crew cab body to accommodate transporting three firefighters to our fire boat assigned to Station #3’s response area to eliminate blocking roadways with the larger apparatus when responding to pick up the boat. Each of our brush units are outfitted with one handline large enough to make an initial fire attack, should the need arise, to respond to a structure fire while returning from another call.
Brush 36 was purchased with funds that were saved by obtaining the AFG Grant for air packs and remaining funds left over from the purchase of the fire boat in 2023. In planning for this new unit, the District looked at current prices of similar units from fire truck manufacturers and found that those similar units could run up to $240,000.
The District opted to purchase a Chevrolet one ton chassis with a Knapheide utility bed and purchased the skid unit (pump and water tank) separately. The firefighters then wired and mounted the lights, radios, tools and other accessories in house with a final total being around $98,000 for this unit. Through the dedication and hard work of our staff we were able to produce a very nice unit at a reduced cost! A special thanks to our fleet manager, Captain Moreland, for heading up the project.
The District welcomes Brush 36 to the fleet!
Press Release
For Immediate Release
4 December 2023
Station #4 Opening and Insurance Rates
On Saturday, December 2nd, Station #4, 2617 State Rd F, opened full time with two firefighters, an engine, a tanker, and brush truck. This station opening was made possible through Proposition Fire, passed in August of 2022. The station has been renovated to accommodate the full-time staff and existing fire apparatus (vehicles) were moved to the station to facilitate its opening.
The Station was opened to help with the increased call volume the District is experiencing, reduce response times and to help reduce insurance rates after the Insurance Service Office (ISO) decertified Station #4 and Station #5 in 2020. Every insurance company is different and not all companies utilize the ISO Rating System.
Residents are advised check with their insurance agents to see if they may be able to get an immediate reduction in insurance rates in the area of Station #4 as some companies, who do not use the ISO system, simply go by distance to a staffed fire station, typically anywhere within five road miles of a fire station. There are also insurance companies that do not use ISO rating and base their rates off the number of full-time staff, pump and tank capacities of the primary fire district responding.
If your insurance company exclusively uses the ISO Rating System, we are currently working with them to update their records and begin the process of re-certifying the stations. Unfortunately, this is not a quick process, but we are working diligently to provide the most up to date information to their agency.
Please be advised that, as a fire district, we are not able to track what parameters each insurance company utilizes, but we will be happy to answer any questions to the best of our knowledge our residents or their carriers may have.
SBFPD Receives ARPA Grant
The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District has been approved as a recipient of the American Rescue Plant Act (ARPA) grant. The grant is a matching grant up to $20,000.00. This means the Federal Government will match up to twenty thousand dollars on approved purchases.
The District will use this matching grant to purchase six (6) new dual band portable radios that will enhance communication capabilities and allow firefighters to access the MOSWIN system without being in the fire truck. MOSWIN (Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network) is a radio system available to first responders anywhere in the state.
Each of the portable radios cost around $6,000.00 each. The grant also required that any awards given must include an in-vehicle radio repeater. This unit will take the signal from the portable radios and amplify it through the radio of the truck.
Total cost of the project will be approx. $37,000.00 with the District’s cost being around $17,000.00 once the grant funds are released. We are excited to get this new radio technology in the hands of our officers and hope to eventually replace all of the vehicle mounted and portable radios with dual band capability.
SBFPD Receives AFG Grant
The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District is pleased to announce we have been awarded a grant in the amount of $265,618.09!
Each year the Federal Government provides grant funding through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). The grant will be used to replace our entire inventory of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) or “air packs” the firefighters use to enter dangerous environments.
The District’s current inventory of Scott air packs will reach the end of their service life in 2024. The bottles that hold the air are hydrostatically tested every five years with a service life of 15 years.
Each of the District’s fire apparatus and staff vehicles carries these units. The District has approximately 29 units in service and has had to remove packs from service due to maintenance and age from second out and reserve apparatus and place them on first out apparatus. Included in this grant:
- 34 SCBA units with new masks
- 2 Rapid Intervention Team rescue packs
- 1 fit testing system
- 1 fixed location air compressor
The grant will place a new air pack in every riding position on our fire trucks and one in every staff vehicle, install a new air compressor at Station #2 to fill the bottles, replace all the face masks assigned to the firefighters and provide the District with the equipment to fit test our firefighters annually in compliance with OSHA and NFPA requirements. Currently, the District pays a third party to fit test the firefighters, rents or borrows the equipment.
The District has until 2025 to spend the funds, which does require a $13,280.91 match to the grant for a total project amount of $278,899.00. The District will be adding additional funding to this project to include items such as voice amplifiers not typically covered by the AFG.
The District had already earmarked funds to replace the SCBAs and purchase the accompanying equipment prior to being awarded the grant. Those funds can now be used for other projects once the grant requirements are satisfied.
A special thank you to Captain Hurtubise, our SCBA Project Manager, who maintains our air packs and accompanying equipment. Captain Hurtubise has a busy year ahead of him!
Sunrise Beach FPD Acquires New Fire Boat
April 3, 2023
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, at an Emergency Meeting of the Board of Directors, the Board voted 4-1 to approve a purchase and make a bid for two vehicles to add to the District’s Fleet.
The first vehicle is a 2015 Stanley Marine Fire Boat. This unit features a 1,500-gpm pump, landing ramp, deck crane, radar,and all band radios. The boat was purchased used from the Sculleville Fire Protection District in New Jersey. It is a 32-foot aluminum deck boat with twin 200-horsepower Yamaha engines.
The boat, if built new, is estimated to cost $300,000 or more. The District purchased the boat for
$175,000 after Assistant Chief Wieberg, Captain Moreland and President Suellentrop traveled to Scullville for inspection of the unit. All is in top working order with detailed maintenance records and the boat is ready for work when it arrives after new decals, adding our equipment and cleaning The unit has only 310 hours on the motors and 27 hours on the pump.
The District had $380,000 in a money market account for purchase of new air packs. As we were awarded $264,000 through the AFG Grant for air packs, this freed up money for other projects. The boat is being purchased out of those funds with no money used from the General Revenue Account.
Sunrise Beach’s current boat is a 25 foot, 1988 Boston Whaler. That boat features a 750-gpm pump and has been updated several times throughout the years. The District covers the Lake of the Ozarks from the 8 mm to the 41 mm and due to the distance from where it is docked, the current boat does not respond to all emergency incidents in Sunrise Beach coverage area. We rely on mutual aid partners to respond to locations from approx. the 22 mm to the 8 mm and our firefighters respond by land.
Due to increased call volume, heavier water chop in the lower end of the lake and a need for a larger fire pump, the new unit will eventually be assigned to the Shawnee Bend peninsula and will be staffed by our Station 3 firefighters. Giving the District two boats in the fleet.
The second item on the agenda was to make an offer for a Brush Truck from the Osage Beach Fire Protection District for $15,000. We were advised we were not the high bid for the truck; however, the winning bidder did not want the pump and water tank. We were able to purchase this “skid unit” for $3,000 which will be placed on our current utility truck.
