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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Carrington Fire Department has spent the past few years raising money to purchase new equipment for their roster, but planned tax increases in the city have caused them to find other ways to buy the equipment.

Fire Chief Ken Wangen reports that last year, the group raised enough money to replace all of their helmets, more than 20 pairs of boots and 15 structural jackets and pants.

“The end figure in dollars raised was about $45,000,” Wangen pointed out. “With all of the unknown and known increases in taxes, special assessments, increase of taxes from the ambulance and new school, we decided to pursue other grants and not make a big push this year.”

Wangen says they’ve hit on a few grants and made some changes to their project to address immediate issues. He says right now, they need to purchase around 10 pairs of boots and between 15 to 20 sets. He says that will cost around $30,000.

In other Carrington Fire Department news, Wangen says they’ve named a county Public Information Officer to field questions on larger incidents. Sarah Aberle will be the Foster County PIO with Becky Hagel as backup.

“Keep in mind, this is for larger events that are long hours,” Wangen says. “They will not be utilized on the ‘normal’ incidents. This has been in the works for a while and has been finally achieved.”