THATCHER — Monday was a good day for the Thatcher Fire Department.
The Thatcher Town Council ratified the department members’ vote to remove the word “interim” from Steve Curtis’ title, making him the full Fire Chief.
The council was also informed by firefighter Josh Curtis the department applied for and has been awarded a $100,000 grant from AG West Farm Credit, as part of its Rural Community Grants program. The funds will be paired with money already budgeted to cover the complete cost of replacing analog radios with digital for all firefighters and fire trucks.
Finally, the council voted unanimously to pay each firefighter $20 per call and $20 per attended training session.
“We hope it increases attendance at fires in the middle of the night,” Steve Curtis said.
Until Monday night, Thatcher was the only area Fire Department that did not compensate volunteer firefighters for calls or training. Safford pays $20 for each training session and $30 per call; Pima pays $10 per training session and $10 per call; and Willcox pays $52 per training session, but there is no pay for calls.
The council also voted to increase the retirement contribution for firefighters from $5,000 to $15,000, and to pay the fire chief $25,000 per year.
The council authorized an annual expenditure of $100,000, but left open the possibility of adding more funding if the number of fire calls increases this year.
There was no talk Monday of town compensated health insurance for the firefighters, which was originally brought up in June.
Safford pays 90 percent of the firefighter’s health insurance premium through the city’s plan, but it is the only area community to cover any premium cost for volunteer firefighters.
In June, Thatcher Town Manager Heath Brown said firefighters can participate in the town’s health insurance plan, but all costs would have to be borne by the firefighters unless or until the council decides the town should carry some of the cost of premiums.
