City Council approves fire department purchases

SIDNEY -- The Sidney City Council Tuesday approved purchase of new breathing apparatus.

Sidney Fire Chief Matthew Butts met with city council in the January 10 meeting to request the purchase of 10 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).

"The current ones we're using are 25 years old. We're kind of at the point of having to make a decision," Butts said.

He said some of the equipment is no longer supported by the company, and need repairs with limited parts available. Butts proposed spending $101,647 from the department's equipment reserve account to purchase 24 cylinders, five custom SCBAs for use on the ladder truck, five standard SCBAs, and one Rapid Intervention Team kit.

Butts said he is expecting a 10 percent price increase by the end of February.

The new SCBAs will be the same Scott brand the Sidney Rural Fire District No. 1 purchased in 2022.

Butts said the department needs to replace 13 SCBA units. Their plan is to replace the remaining three in Fiscal years 2024 and 2025.