Caswell Lakes gears up for fire response

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted unanimously Tuesday on a small code change that will have a large effect in Caswell Lakes.

Prior to the first of this year, if a home caught fire in the area, the owner could expect no firefighters to show up and help. The area has long been a glaring hole in borough fire protection, sitting between the protected areas of Talkeetna and Willow.

In November, voters there decided to start a fire department. The code change makes it official, which means the borough can start building a fire department.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of things that we’re going to kick into action,” said Dennis Brodigan, the borough’s director of emergency services .

First off, the new Caswell Lakes Fire Service Area needs a board of supervisors. That body will oversee the area’s budget and act as a liaison between the department and the community.

A second fire service area also needs a new board. In a separate vote Tuesday, the assembly officially merged the Big Lake and Meadow Lakes fire departments into the Lakes Fire Department. Board members in both fire service areas resigned at the start of the year and members will have to apply if they want to serve on the new board.

Caswell, though, is where the action is. Brodigan said his department is planning to kick off a recruitment drive as soon as possible.

He said there are already three Caswell firefighters who live in Caswell but, until this year, responded to fires with the Willow and Talkeetna departments. Those three have been in the area beating the bushes looking for volunteers who might want to sign up.

Borough emergency services volunteer coordinator Sally Leatherman is going to conduct her own recruitment drive as well. Once that search has produced a list of people who want to fight fires, those people will need to be trained.

“(Firefighter training coordinator) Johnny Murdock has already got a basic firefighter training class organized and ready to go as soon as we have enough recruits to put into the class,” Brodigan said.

And then there’s the question of equipment. For now, everything from trucks to hoses to boots and jackets will be surplus from other departments or loaners.

The borough will put together grant proposals to the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Department of Homeland Security when those agencies start their annual grant process in March.

And the borough is already looking for funds to build a fire station in the area.

In the interim, Brodigan said, they’re about to put out a request for anyone willing to lease them a warm storage building in the area to house a fire truck.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.