Delivery on Colfax’s new fire engine expected in late March of 2026
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Editor’s note: LeAnn R. Ralph serves as chair of the Town of Otter Creek and as chair of the Colfax Community Fire District Board.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Delivery on the Colfax Community Fire Department’s new fire engine is expected in late March of 2026.
The cost of the new fire engine is expected to be approximately $575,000, and members of the Colfax fire board learned at the March 27 meeting that the fire district currently has $380,000 in the vehicle equipment replacement accounts.
The fire district’s budget sets aside $20,000 annually for the vehicle replacement fund, and the $20,000 for 2025 will be transferred later this year, bringing the amount available to pay for the fire engine up to $400,000.
The money has been put into certificates of deposit at Bremer Bank and at BMO Harris that will yield over 4 percent in interest.
As of the March 27 meeting, the Bremer Bank account had about $170,000 in the vehicle replacement fund, and BMO Harris had about $210,000 for vehicle replacement.
Porta-tank rack
Gary Hill, Colfax fire chief, reported that when the new fire engine had been ordered, a rack for the portable tank had been overlooked.
A portable folding tank is used at fire scenes so that tenders delivering water can dump into the portable tank, and the fire engine can pump out of the tank.
Members of the fire department’s truck committee coordinated with the company on a solution for the rack that will require a re-design for part of the fire engine.
The initial thought was that the porta-tank rack could just be added to the top of the fire engine at the back of vehicle.
The truck committee quickly realized that with the porta-tank rack about eight feet above the back bumper, it would be difficult to reach and to pull it out, Hill said.
Taking the porta-tank out of the fire engine requires two people, and putting it back requires more than two people, he said.
The solution was to redesign an area on the side of the fire engine that is more easily accessible.
The redesign is expected to add about $15,000 to the cost, Hill said.
The Colfax Community Fire District Board meets three times per year (April, July and October), and Hill said the manufacturer had to add the new design for the porta-tank rack to the plans for the fire engine as soon as possible.
Since there was not enough time to obtain the approval of the fire board, Hill said the firefighters’ association had agreed to pay for the porta-tank rack.
The Colfax Firefighters’ Association raises money through several fund raisers, with the largest fund raiser being the annual Colfax Firefighters’ Ball in September.
Over the years, the firefighters’ association has purchased a variety of equipment for the fire department using funds raised from the Firefighters’ Ball.
One piece of equipment that the firefighters’ association purchased, for example, was the used fire engine from the Bayport fire department that serves as the back-up to Colfax’s main fire engine.
Hill, along with past fire chiefs, have said that purchasing equipment is one way for the firefighters to pay back the community for all of the community support given to the fire department.
Nope
Members of the Colfax fire board, however, disagreed that the firefighters should pay for the porta-tank rack.
The porta-tank rack is an essential part of the fire engine, and the municipalities are purchasing the fire engine, so the cost for the rack should be added to the cost that the municipalities will pay, said Mark Dietsche, representative for the Town of Grant.
Other fire board members agreed.
The Colfax Community Fire District includes the Village of Colfax, the Town of Colfax, the Town of Grant and the Town of Otter Creek.
The municipalities in the Colfax fire district pay the property tax levy for the fire district according to the percentage of equalized value the municipality has in the fire district.
Large purchases, such as the fire engine and building a new fire station, are paid by the municipalities in the same percentages based on equalized value.
For the 2025 budget, the Village of Colfax has 24.2 percent of the equalized value, the Town of Colfax has 38.6 percent of the equalized value, the Town of Grant has 16.5 percent of the equalized value, and the Town of Otter Creek has 20.7 percent of the equalized value.
The Colfax fire district has had a budget of $112,700 and a property tax levy of $94,700 for more than 10 years.
Report
In his fire chief’s report, Hill noted that the Colfax fire department currently has 28 firefighters.
In 2024, the Colfax fire department went on 20 runs in the Village of Colfax, 19 runs in the Town of Colfax, 23 runs in the Town of Grant, and seven runs in the Town of Otter Creek, according to the report.
In 2024, the Colfax fire department either gave or received mutual aid for a total of 20 times.
The Colfax fire department submitted a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to replace the air packs used by the firefighters but did not receive the grant, Hill said.
The grant writer who had written the grant application charged $1,500 for the application and then resubmitted the grant application this year at no cost, he said.
The grant writer has said the Colfax fire department can continue to submit grant applications to FEMA every year until a grant is awarded, Hill noted.
Planning grant
The Colfax fire board also discussed participating in the Innovation Planning Grant Study that is being coordinated through the Town of Elk Mound.
The Town of Elk Mound has been awarded a $52,500 grant.
The money for the innovation planning grant comes from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, and the study is intended to see if there is a way to combine fire or emergency medical services in Dunn County or a way to share equipment between agencies.
Dana Sechler of Strategic Management and Consulting held a kick-off meeting for the planning grant on March 11 and asked fire departments and ambulance services in Dunn County to submit a list of information he would need to complete the study.
The Colfax fire board agreed that the Colfax fire department should participate in the study and that the fire chief should submit whatever information he has available to contribute to the study.