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First Posted: 8/26/2013 RICE TWP. &#8212; The township&#8217;s first emergency response team is setting up shop inside the township borders.
Wright Township Volunteer Fire Department, named Rice Township&#8217;s primary fire department when supervisors voted to decertify their own department in June, parked one of their reserve fire trucks in Rice&#8217;s maintenance garage Thursday, allowing the department to reach emergencies in the township sooner.
The pumper/rescue truck, a 1989 Pierce Dash model capable of pumping water with storage space for gear, has been recently serviced and geared.
The truck was certified before its installation at Rice Township to be in line with the manufacturer&#8217;s standards, said Wright Township Assistant Fire Chief Chris Krout.
Rice Township Supervisors&#8217; Chairman Miller Stella said the truck sitting in their garage hints at what is to come for many volunteer departments.
&#8220;This is a vision for the future,&#8221; Stella said. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to see a lot more municipalities doing what Rice Township has done. It&#8217;s because of the lack of volunteers in communities. You&#8217;re going to see more and more fire companies coming together and doing what&#8217;s best for the residents.&#8221;
Wright Township volunteers had the truck on their own turf Monday night gearing it up to be fully-equipped to be what Krout called an &#8220;initial attack piece&#8221; for emergencies in Rice Township.
Because all Rice Township homes are within five roadway miles from Wright&#8217;s department, the Rice Township department&#8217;s decertification did not threaten homeowners&#8217; insurance premiums, but the supervisors and Wright volunteers saw a need to put it there.
&#8220;It&#8217;s something that (Rice Township) felt was important,&#8221; Krout said. &#8220;We do want to maintain a presence there.&#8221;

Fire truck moves into Rice Township