RAHA might use city fire department
April 24, 2000
By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff
Rutland Amateur Hockey Association is considering hiring Rutland City to provide fire protection at an ice skating arena it hopes to build in Rutland Town. RAHA members had been working with the Rutland Town Fire Department for several months to satisfy Act 250's requirements for fire protection. However, the non-profit group has told a committee of the city's Board of Alderman that they hoped to save money by contracting with the Rutland City Fire Department. "Basically, we think the response time could be quicker and our insurance premium might be correspondingly lower," RAHA president Don Adams said Thursday.
Members of the city's Public Safety Committee said they were interested in contracting with the organization. Adams said RAHA members were still weighing their options. The city's fire department is located closer to the Diamond Run Mall, where the new rink would be built, than either of Rutland Town's two fire stations. The mall itself once contracted with the city for its fire protection, but canceled the contract and has relied on the town for the last three years.
Rutland Town Fire Chief Robert Schlachter said he believed RAHA's inquiry to the city was the result of a misunderstanding with the town over a hazardous substance that would be stored at the rink. "I think RAHA is well intentioned, but they're overboard on this concern," he said. For several months, Schlachter said, he has been asking the group for an estimate on how much anhydrous ammonia would be used to cool the ice at the rink. The chemical is not a fire hazard, but its gases are dangerous to inhale or touch, he said. Schlachter said his department could provide fire protection to the rink. But he said he didn't want to approve the plan until he knew his department could deal with a chemical leak.
Part of that question was answered last week when RAHA's representative told the city's Public Safety Committee that 2,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia would be kept in the building. Schlachter, who attended that meeting, said that would constitute a major spill if it was all released at once. If a substantial leak occurred, he said, his department would take steps to evacuate the mall and an area nearly a mile downwind from the spill. Actual cleanup would be done by a state hazardous materials team, which is trained to handle such accidents. Usually it takes several hours for the team to mobilize, Schlachter said. During the wait, his department would try to contain the spill.
To prepare, he said, his department would need meters installed to measure concentrations of gas in the air and members of his force would need response training. Those measures would cost RAHA about $5,000, he said. Adams said the town department wasn't being clear enough about what it would need. "They've given us blanket conditions," he said. "We'd really like it to be more defined. The way it sounds right now, we could be paying to train the whole department." If that were the case, he said, the town's conditions could cost RAHA up to $50,000.
For the city's part, Alderwoman Sharon Davis said the city's fire department was already trained to deal with anhydrous ammonia since an icehouse in the city uses the chemical. The department would also pay to install the meters, she said. However, Davis said, the committee made it clear that RAHA would be required to cover the department's costs for responding to any incidents, as well as an annual fee for fire service. A fee amount has not been settled yet, she said, but would probably be low since RAHA is a non-profit organization.
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