LIVERPOOL TOWNSHIP – Liverpool Township trustees are considering promoting the fire chief to building inspector.

Trustee Mike Bahen made the suggestion of promoting Fire Chief Jacob Russell, Liverpool Township Volunteer Fire Department, to building inspector during Tuesday’s meeting of the Liverpool Township Board of Trustees.

The suggestion came about during discussion on some of the dilapidated, neglected or abandoned houses within the township.

Bahen said with Russell being certified now as a building inspector, it could be helpful in dealing with the neglected houses in the area if he was promoted to the position.

The trustees will need to discuss the matter further before proceeding with any promotion.

In his report, Russell said that tanker 23 was out of service for a couple of days last week due to needing repairs to the air brakes. Justin Tausch did the repairs and saved the department nearly $1,000 by doing the repair in-house, which only cost the department $200 for the parts.

Pump testing will be completed on both tankers and both engines during either the last week of May or the first week in June. The total for testing all four trucks will be $1,900.

Russell also noted that he has obtained a few quotes for the flagpoles for the fire stations which was brought up at the previous meeting, and he decided that due to pricing the department is looking in to other options before making a final decision on what to do.

Kaitlyn Talbot, who is the wife of Police Officer Jake Talbot, recently passed her state volunteer fire certification through the State of Ohio and Russell said he wanted to congratulate her.

Russell said he spoke with Bahen about ordering five new radio chargers since both stations are out of them due to having four new members join the department. The department has five spare radios but no chargers for them. He will look into what the cost of the chargers will be.

The personal protection equipment purchased through the Forestry grant has been coming in and the firefighters seem happy with it.

There is an old school bus parked at Station 7 and there will be two cars put there as well for the firefighters to work on extrication training. East Liverpool and Glenmoor firefighters have been invited to participate. East Liverpool will provide the battery power Jaws of Life and cutters and practice with their new air bags on the bus.

Russell noted that the department’s Jaws of Life are pretty outdated and wants to see about getting an updated set with any leftover grant money.

Russell also noted that someone reached out to him offering to rent the fire department a dump truck to clean all the old moldy equipment from both stations, so they have room to store newer equipment. He will provide the trustees with a quote for the dump truck rental once he receives it.

Russell also discussed running water drills with the Ohioville Volunteer Fire Department.

The Liverpool Township Board of Trustees meets every other Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the township administration building, 2485 Boring Lane, East Liverpool. The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 26.