By Bonnie Culverhouse
Minden City Council approved two promotions and two hires in the fire department during Monday night’s meeting.
Captain Andrew Myles is now a Battalion Chief, while Firefighter/Operator Tommy Hughes Jr. is the department’s newest Fire Captain.
Added to the roster are two new Firefighter/Operators David Hatcher and Alec Plunkett, who passed Civil Service exams.
Fire Chief Brian Williams said this number brings his department to 15 full-time employees working 24-hour shifts and one assistant chief working from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
“At this point we have 12 active volunteers,” Williams said. “We are always looking for more if they have the time.”
In addition to personnel, Minden Fire Department is driving home a new fire truck and command unit in the future.
The council passed a resolution regarding a lease/purchase agreement with Government Capital Corporation to finance a custom pumper fire truck and equipment at a cost of $1.166 million. Annual payments will be slightly more than $151,135 and will begin February 2027 or one year from funding.
Program benefits include:
• No down payment
• Payments deferred up to one year
• Only board approval required
• Pre-qualification for expedited processing
• Equipment may be included.
Using the same program and benefits, cost of a new command unit will be $67,168 with annual payments over five years of $16,168 or seven years of $12,163.
Payments begin March 2027 or one year from funding.
Williams said in February his teams responded to four structure fires, three miscellaneous fires, four public service calls, three rescue calls, three false alarms and four fire alarms.
“A couple of the miscellaneous calls were grass fires,” he told the council. “The whole parish is under a burn ban until further notice.”
Williams also reported that four of his full-time personnel have passed aerial certification, with two more to be tested.
“We have two volunteers that have passed hazmat awareness,” he added. “One of our full-time men passed his rope rescue technician, and we have a few more that will be taking the class when it comes up.”
Williams reminded the council that certification costs are covered by a grant.
