Silver Lake FD tires judged not worn out; may still be replaced

silver-lake-fd-doorAn inspection on Tuesday of the tires on the Silver Lake Fire Department apparatus showed all to have low mileage and sufficient tread depth.

But Trustee Roger Johnson, chairman of the Emergency Services Committee, said Wednesday morning that he still may seek replacement of the tires.

For now, the trucks are still considered out of service, Johnson said.

A technician from Emergency Apparatus Maintenance inspected all department vehicles Tuesday at the firehouse. Tires on all vehicles were found to have no cracks or missing pieces and had sufficient tread depth, Johnson said.

Mileage on the tires on each piece of equipment as of Tuesday was:

  • 6118 Engine — 6,897.
  • 6119 Engine — 12,382.
  • 6156 Equipment — 11,471.
  • 6167 Tender — 7,150.

All other aspects of the trucks were found to be OK by the inspector, save for some minor problems like lights that were out, Johnson said.

But despite the inspection results, Johnson said he is still considering having some or all of the tires replaced due to age. All the current major equipment was purchased after the 1997 fire that destroyed the firehouse and most of the equipment inside. The tires on the vehicles have not been replaced since they were delivered.

Last week, then acting Fire Chief Roger Pattie said he was taking the trucks out of service because of the age of the tires. He cited standards that would have called for the tires to have been replaced  twice by now. The old tires, regardless of mileage or outward condition, made the trucks unsafe to operate, Pattie said.

When the Village Board rejected a motion to contract for temporary fire protection service from Salem until November, Pattie resigned as chief. The village is currently seeking a chief. Johnson said he has been contacted by some candidates, but he has been concentrating on the tire issue first.

Johnson said regardless of whether the tires are replaced or judged sufficient for use he is hoping to have the trucks back in service by sometime Thursday.

12 Shares

35 Comments

  1. An apology says:

    I think someone owes Ms. Tanski an apology! I guess a lady who has spent over 25 years around the fire dept does know a thing or two about what’s going on!

  2. Allie Draeger says:

    An apology are you serious?? Um no…there is a reason the trucks are still out of service in light of this new information…

  3. West Jacobs says:

    Just because a tire has X many miles on it is only ONE indicator, the other; is in what year it was made! Tires WILL loose their oils and start to dry rot in places that you don’t see!

    I worked in the military for 25 years and around all sorts of heavy equipment, and know first hand it’s not always the mileage. I have also worked in Harley-Davidson shops as a Technician and Service Manager and would not put on old tires even if they had good treads. The tire manufactures are also getting on this age vs tread discussion, and I don’t think you will find used tires to put on cars anymore and why would you.

  4. Roger Pattie says:

    The maintenance of the fire vehicles was never in question. Miles Trucking has done the maintenance on these vehicles since they were purchased. Miles has always taken excellent care of our fire apparatus and no one has ever suggested any differently. The reason I took the trucks out of service was due to the age of the tires. The manufacturer recommends replacing the tires after 10 years regardless of mileage or tread depth. Even if it is a spare tire and has never been on the ground it should still be replaced after 10 years. The reasoning behind this is due to the breakdown of the side walls which could result in a rollover accident if failure occurs while driving down the road.

  5. I call bs says:

    I call bulls#it. Nice try Roger. This all about I can’t get my way so I’m gonna throw a tantrum. You guys that are buying in to Mr galichs crap are only hurting yourselves and the citizens you have vowed to protect. You all look like idiots to the rest of the county including the village board. Keep fighting as we keep laughing. Let Salem take over and make the cost of services double. That makes sense.

  6. Becky Pattie says:

    @ I call bs: Who is hurting who in the situation? The trucks are still out of commission by Roger Johnson. Johnson is looking into replacing many, if not all tires. Tires on safety vehicles are required by law to be changed after x amount of years regardless of mileage for safety reasons. Roger Pattie pulled the trucks due lack of proper maintenance on the tires (being changed properly). This is not only to keep the firefighters but the residents of this village safe! The board (minus Dunn) does a great job of making themselves look like idiots, no one needs to help them! The fire department wanted a temporary contact with Salem in order to best protect the very citizens they vowed to protect, rather than attempt to rely on other departments that are facing the same staffing issues. Would you be blasting people on social media if the rescue squad or pd couldn’t afford new tires, I doubt it. That’s fine, continue your attacks from behind your computer screen where you can hide your name. You and others who hide behind fake names in order to verbally attack others are laughable!! I’d love to sit and talk to you face to face, what would you say then?!

  7. Help us all says:

    Apology? To who? Tanski who has no standing? because she hangs at the firehouse? Because of a name? No, the reporter gave the info and it was not what Tanski stated. The trucks are still silent. And an authority, one elected or hired by the village will call the shots!

    Twice as much cost? Really? That is a statement (almost but not quite) ranks up of two times zero is still zero! The amount of money given by the trustees to the fire department should have been substantially more than $59,000. The police chief makes more than that! Police gets what? $500,000. Who are you trying to scare? Not me. I know the figures and I know the pitch given by a small group of control freaks. I can vote to dissolve, get great services, fire will be taken care of, paramedics will roll and I will pay $250 less each year for the benefit. Salem residents north of us will get Salem services out of ‘our’ house and the Fire/Rescue brotherhood will prevail. What will change big time, is life at the rescue squad and how they will be supporting their company without the dollars that should be used to alleviate my taxes. And it will burn them each time they must call for Paramedic services from Salem. I have to wonder why Dennis at the hills wants to contract with less than a paramedic service. Yeap, those dollars go into a private company coffers and not to the village to reduce taxes. There you have it.
    FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL. The problems become unclouded.

    Since tantrum was introduced – Lets stop and look at the biggest trantrum of all which is to use direct legislation to control an administrative action that is the job of the village board to insist that they not contract for the fire/paramedic services of the town because why? Because rescue would lose their funding! TANTRUM! That is what I call a tantrum! Using a legislative petition for day to day activities of the board.

    Well, there are some who are on board to trump your tantrum with one that will be final as all get out! Gotta love the WHAT GOES AROUND comes around!

  8. Greg Galich says:

    I love this person that calls themselves bs. They have no idea what is going on. Roger Johnson laid a smoke screen. He found out the tires were to old and had to be changed out. If he was not worried about the liability they would be back in service right now. He spent tax payer money to do another safety check that had been done a few months ago when we knew there was no problem there. The only problem in question was the tires. Fix the tires so we can return to work. It is easier to follow the rules and regulation than to run illegally.

  9. WHERE IS THE MONEY? says:

    WHERE IS THE MONEY?
    Where will the money for the tires come ?

    Where will the money for anything related to fire come from?

    SLFD only got $59,000 for the entire department for the entire year!
    Is there a money tree in the Board Room?

    Roger Johnson is working very hard. I can see!
    I agree with the GOES AROUND/COMES AROUND.
    I think that Roger J understand that now!

    The dissolving concept is great. I didn’t see a single flyer from the parade crumpled up. They all found their way to a home!

  10. Bernard Punsley says:

    Folks….REALLY confused here….doesn’t Roger Johnson work for a local auto/truck dealership? He certainly should have SOME working knowledge of truck tires, or at least know who to ask for advice at the dealership. IF the tires were “Tanski Certified”, why aren’t our trucks back in service? I think Mr.Galich called his bluff. As far as where the money should come from, if we “magically” produced $250,000 to purchase a library building, can’t we come up with a few bucks for some truck tires? At least to outfit one rig? Maybe the firefighters could sell a few more hot dogs. Anybody heard from the REST of the board members(except Pat Dunn) on this issue? The silence is DEAFENING!

  11. Concerned Citizen says:

    I’m confused here. When did Ms. Tanski become the spokesperson for the Silver Lake Fire Department? She assured us that the rigs had been inspected and were ready to roll. This article contradicts that. Are the fire trucks in service or are they out of service? Why would ANYONE put ANY credence into what Ms.Tanski has to say about fire department operations, over what Fire Chiefs McFarlane and Pattie had to say, based on their years of dedicated service and experience? Roger Johnson’s “juggling act” should qualify him for a job with Barnum & Bailey Circus. The “Queen” already has the “Ringmaster” job sewn up!

  12. Where's The Chief says:

    Remember the old Wendy’s hamburger commercial…..little old lady picks up the bun and looks at a tiny hamburger and says “where’s the beef”? Well, throughout this entire fiasco…..our village board has not taken a serious approach to hiring a new fire chief….if they have, they certainly have kept the citizens in the dark on it. Have you heard a single comment from any board member besides Roger and Sue? Have they posted a job description? Do they have a projected deadline? Have they attempted to “appoint” someone in a temporary fashion? WHO is in charge of the fire department RIGHT NOW? Does anyone know? Multiple issues facing our fire department, 2 previous fire chiefs were basically “pushed out the door” for not “towing the line” and refusing to ignore the deficiencies. What’s a new fire chief gonna do, come in here and say “well,everything is ‘hunky-dory'”. Oops…that’s Mike Faber’s quote on the library fiasco, sorry….perhaps the new fire chief could use the line from Cool Hand Luke movie “what we have here, is a failure to communicate”

  13. Bernard Punsley says:

    Is anyone “TIRED” of this game Roger Johnson is playing with not only the safety and well-being of our firefighters, but our citizens as well. Will any of our board members besides Pat Dunn speak out? Would Carolyn or Sabrina climb aboard an ambulance with 16 year old tires on it? I doubt very seriously that SLRS would EVER condone one of their rigs pulling out the door with the same tires on it that were installed when Bill Clinton was president. Let’s get serious here folks….Chris Willkomm…..haven’t heard from you? Why is the board “treading lightly” on this issue? Let’s have “the rubber meet the road” and resolve this issue!

  14. What were they doing? says:

    What were the people being paid to sit around at the dept doing all day??? Quittin McFarland said they were in talking with the ladies and police chief in the village hall.. That sounds like a waste of money. Why were they not the ones to find that lights weren’t working? Why weren’t they changing the bulbs? Are they not qualified to change a light bulb? Interesting!

  15. Conspiracy? says:

    So the tires should’ve been replaced 6 years ago???? But the current board takes the criticism for the inherited problem while the former pres who should’ve budgeted to replace the tires years ago is using his lack of budgeting skills as the main talking point to rally the troops and dissolve. Well played Jeffy! You’ll show them for voting you out! Getting two thirds vote should be interesting seeing as the same group just got it handed to them in the last election!

  16. Greg Galich says:

    This problem could have been avoided 3 years ago when the Ad-Hoc committee gave its report. The team of professionals told the board this would take place. They did nothing. If in anyway Roger Johnson could have put the units back in service to make our Chiefs look bad he would have. I am told now by Roger Johnson that we are going to be selling some fire department assets to pay for our daily operations. Folks this is called bankruptcy. Dissolve the village before we home owners are stuck with a big bill.

  17. Bad-Hoc Committee says:

    Well folks…just about everything that the “Bad-Hoc” committee predicted would happen if Silver Lake continued it’s “status quo” fashion of providing fire and rescue emergency services, IS happening RIGHT NOW! I don’t think even those folks could have predicted things would become this bad this quickly! Remember, one of the committee’s recommendations included “status quo”. They certainly did not recommend it, in fact advised against it….but they were pretty much chastised and run out of town. The committee members were highly motivated individuals with years of experience in fire, rescue, and law enforcement, both large city, towns and villages, paid departments, volunteer departments, combination departments. They were slammed from day one and their recommendations pretty much ridiculed. “Hidden agenda” was a common accusation thrown at them. And the assaults worked. While they went back to reality, Silver Lake continues to flounder in La La Land.

  18. Ughh says:

    I guess there won’t be any fireman’s dance this year….now I gotta go sell my dancing shoes. Maybe I can donate that money to the fire department? What about those awesome fireworks? I bet those will be canceled too. What does Silver Lake have for recreation otherwise? Any festivals? LMAO!!! Its a bedroom community. Nothing more, nothing less!

  19. Bernard Punsley says:

    Well now…..”Roger the Dodger” hoped to have the trucks back in service Thursday, May 29th…the fire trucks are “good to go” with or without new tires. So WHY are they NOT back in service? Why are Silver Lake firefighters NOT being toned out for fire or rescue calls in the village? Did the Randall and Wheatland firefighters know they would be replacing the Silver Lake firefighters on calls in their own village, not “temporarily”, but on a much longer term basis? If you have a police/fire/rescue scanner, you will not hear SLFD being toned out. Have they been banned from responding to calls within their village? How long can it take to put tires on a fire truck? Can’t SLFD at least have one truck put back in service so the firefighters could respond? The Wheatland and Randall fire departments are being used as “pawns” in this political game of chess that the SL board is playing . To all the firefighters reading this, when you realize what the board has done to your “brother and sister”firefighters in Silver Lake, I suspect you will rise up in strong defense of them and stand “shoulder to shoulder” with them RESISTING the attempts of the village board to undermine the ability of the SLFD to effectively respond. Salem firefighters should be livid that they have been effectively “banned” from responding to Silver Lake…..just like the Silver Lake firefighters have.
    If you live in the trailer courtyard on Highway 50 & B, you should wonder WHO will be responding to an emergency there. Won’t be the SLFD. Wonder what
    Fire Chief in his or her right mind would think they could come in and clean up this mess that the board has created. Incredible.

  20. Salem Sitizen says:

    My mother lives in the trailer park in Salem…….I am very concerned about her and her neighbors should something happen. What is going on in Silver Lake?

  21. Where's The Chief says:

    I note that the Riverview School Board is conducting a search for a new superintendent, currently looking at 16 candidates. This is a thorough and very time consuming process, and is not done “over night”. In the meantime, our Silver Lake Fire Department has no fire chief, and no immediate plans in place to search for a candidate. Has a job description been compiled, search criteria developed, time line established…….has an “interim fire chief” been named to fill the void until a new fire chief is selected? If any of this has been done, it has not been made aware to the public. What’s up with the secret selection process? In the meantime, our fire department has been basically “shut down” by Sue Gerber, they will NOT be toned out to any calls in our village “until a new fire chief has been selected”. Remember, Roger Johnson and the “paid consultant” he brought in to check out our fire trucks stated that they are ready to be put back in service.Our firefighters are prepared to respond. they have been effectively “locked out” of their response area. while firefighters from surrounding communities come into our communities instead.
    If I was a candidate for fire chief in Silver Lake and was being interviewed, the first question out of my mouth to the interview panel would be “are you people out of your minds”?

  22. Sadness in Silver Lake says:

    This comment is for board member Chris Willkomm….the next time there is a fire call at Silver Lake Grade School, you will hear the alarm bell going off, go sit on your front porch as you watch the kids exiting the building. Then glance down at your watch and count how many minutes it takes for the first fire engine from Wheatland or Randall to arrive on scene. This is just for a smoke detector going off(eg. popcorn/microwave) or somebody pulled the alarm. Now take that same scenario…..car or truck crashes into the school, boiler explodes, fire in the kitchen area, etc. and now not all the kids are exiting the building normally, maybe some aren’t at all because they are trapped. Over their screams, you might be able to hear the far off sirens of the trucks coming from Randall and Wheatland. Don’t bother listening for Silver Lake fire department sirens, they have been “banned”. You knew that, right Chris?

  23. Conspiracy says:

    Talk about ruling by fear… Well what happens when you dissolve and your house is being robbed and the nearest county cop is in “Salem” 5 miles away!?!? See it works both ways! You don’t pay less to get more there is no BOGO sale when it comes to govt! Greg you make me sick watching you bash the people you once called friends! Looks like you found a new group to tie your pontoon up to!
    Just remember the same man behind this all was the president for the years when the tires should’ve been replaced. It’s funny you say it could’ve been solved three years ago… By the math my kindergarten teacher at riverview taught me that was three years past due for the tires!!! #InheritedProblems

  24. Branden Sellers says:

    I’m so glad you all blame the Fire Department.. tires are out of date as suspected…. and tonight.. the tone out issues have taken us to the brink… we really are not going to do something positive in this town till something catastrophic happens!!! I’m calling you COWARDS OUT!!!! take a stand!!! or get the heck out of the way!!!!

  25. Trailer Park says:

    The trailer Park in Salem at 50/B isn’t in the SLFD bucket. That’s a TSFR call.
    I believe I am correct.
    There is no change for the tone at TSFR for these callers.

    What scares me is that Sliver Lake Rescue is making the determinations as to manpower at any scene pertaining to Silver Lake.

    It us unfathomable that an organization outside the government authorities can determine actions of a government entity. Let’s go down the road and put Breezy Hill in Charge, or The Boat Doc, or the DQ. Same difference. Except a Gerber isn’t involved with those companies.

    A year ago, I thought that Silver Lake Rescue was a government entity.
    I learned that it wasn’t from this e-paper.
    Also learned that revenue from this organization should be in the coffers of the village government to spend as programs, current and future, present themselves.

    Feeling betrayed.

    Believing in Punsley more and more.
    Disbelieving Village government – surely!

  26. what government? says:

    “Salem firefighters should be livid that they have been effectively “banned” from responding to Silver Lake…..just like the Silver Lake firefighters have. ”

    The citizens should be livid that the Village itself has banned from them good emergency services. The village actions are not for or against the firefighters. The village actions are against the citizens as a whole. Our residents, our visitors, our fishermen, our patrons at the few businesses we have.

    But, we as voters have been complacent and have allowed this to happen. We are to blame for the past. We are watching a movement to make a change and I for one have learned and will vote accordingly. I am done with this pretend government.

  27. concerned says:

    @ Where’s the Chief, I was informed that Retired Chief McFarlane offered to return to the fire department and continue to work on the issues he had identified 18 months ago and had brought forth to the board at that time. The answer he received was “NO, you can return as a fire fighter if you wanted”. If people woild have listened to him 18 months ago and worked with him on his budget, he may still be in the position and working on getting the issues at hand fixed. Look at what he had accomplished in his term, he brought firefighters safety into play with the replacement of the air bottles that were outdated and needed replacing yet people scrutinized him for his efforts in protecting the firefighters safety. When talking to him one on one, I really appreciated everything he had told me that he wanted to see changed or fixed. For a municipal fire department to operate under “bylaws” just wasn’t right and that was one of his priorities to change and implement. The poor guy had nothing but resistance over the last 12 months from some of the village board members and of course the “SAVE SILVER LAKE RESCUE” possy..

    It is time that people start supporting their municipal fire department and not a private company that returns nothing to it’s citizens.. Roger Johnson needs to reinstate Chief McFarlane as he has a plan to move Silver Lake Fire Forward!!

  28. Bernard Punsley says:

    Regarding the trailer park south of 50 & B…that IS in the primary response area of Salem Fire & Rescue. HOWEVER, a fire incident there would include response by Silver Lake Fire Department(back when they were still in existence). As their fire trucks have been shut down and their pagers turned off by board action, they will NOT be responding. If you live in that trailer park, consider how long it would take an initial responding fire truck to respond from the nearest Salem fire station, the nearest Randall fire station, the nearest Wheatland fire station. If you are a member of any of those 3 departments, YOU KNOW how long it is going to take you to get there,and YOU KNOW that response time is unacceptable. Don’t bother calling SLFD for help…their pagers have been shut off. This is not a knock on any of the fire departments involved. They are going to respond as quickly as they can and do the best that they can. A fire doubles in size roughly every minute. Experienced firefighters reading this who have ever been to a mobile home fire know they burn up like a box of popcorn and “search and rescue” operations inside are usually hampered by the “tight quarters”. If I’m making any of this up, please advise.

  29. Captain Courageous says:

    Roger Johnson “hoped” to have the fire trucks back in service on Thursday, May 29th. Then he hoped to have them back in service “this weekend” As today is June 1st, they still are not back in service? He’s also looking at areas in the budget to finance the purchase. REALLY? How long is THAT going to take. Of course, Sue Gerber is “out of town”. OK> Chief McFarlane got LAMBASTED for leaving town for a couple of days. To add to the madness, the SLFD firefighters pager system has been TURNED OFF. SO the fire chief is escorted out of the fire station by the police chief, firefighters were told to stay out of the fire station, board refused to ask Salem Fire & Rescue for help, has made little or no effort to begin the recruitment process for a new fire chief, and so far, has not changed a single tire on the fire trucks. If you folks in Silver Lake are satisfied with that, keep both your homeowners and life insurance premiums fully paid up.

  30. Bernard Punsley says:

    @Conspiracy: Just wondering “Barney”….do they let you keep one bullet in your shirt pocket ? You chastise Mr. Galich for “bashing” folks, then you do exactly the same bashing him and the “former president” as well. Your inference “Inherited Problems” should read “Ignored Problems”. As far as your “having it both ways”……you reference someone’s house being robbed and the nearest county cop is “in Salem….5 miles away” But you apparently have NO PROBLEM with our nearest fire response being 5 miles(or farther!) away as currently exists with our SLFD being effectively “shut down”. You graduated from grade school, and can spell “Conspiracy”, but you are “consistently inconsistent” in your analysis of the issues. Might wanna run your thoughts by Andy(Sheriff Taylor, not McFarlane!)

  31. Bernard Punsley says:

    This is for all the GALICH BASHERS out there….like him or not, he has the courage of his convictions to PUT HIS NAME on his postings, UNLIKE his detractors. On top of that, he is one of the FEW PEOPLE in Silver Lake who WILL NOT BACK DOWN TO BULLYING!!! So keep hammering on him folks….I’m putting my money on Mr. Galich. You should too!.

  32. Really People??? says:

    I cannot believe we are playing the blame game hear. Lives are at stake and Roger Johnson continues to drag his feet and tell us maybe this day or maybe that day the trucks will be back. WTH is he waiting for?? There was already a call to the school, and luckily that turned out to be a burnt bag of popcorn or something crazy. But what if it hadn’t been??? Our children go there. Some of them are very young. People keep blaming Jeff for not replacing them at the 10 year mark. Well, guess what folks, Roger was the president then!!! And by the time that group of trustees was done, our rainy day money was spent, and no means to do anything in the case of an emergency. Lets see how long we have our current rainy day budget for now since the same group is at it again!!!

  33. Bernard Punsley says:

    A bit of “free advice” to all of the “Galich Bashers” out there….”don’t poke the bear”!

  34. A Bully says what? says:

    Please Bernard, enlighten us on what will happen if the bear gets poked. My guess is a lot of like everything else I’ve seen from the two of you,,, all talk and no action.

  35. Bernard Punsley says:

    @A Bully says what? “all talk and no action”….your words, not mine. MOVE SALEM FORWARD…..RESOLVE TO DISSOLVE. Keep pokin’!

  • Follow us on

  • Archives