By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Decatur Fire Chief Jeff Sheets is putting together funding to purchase a new fire extinguisher trainer for his department.
The current trainer, he told city council at its latest meeting, has been repaired numerous times and is simply no longer repairable.
The device is portable and can be taken just about everywhere for training in the use of a fire extinguisher, such as to industries; even schools, it was mentioned.
The trainer provides a live fire to be extinguished. Referring to the safety of the device, “everything is controlled by the instructor,” Sheets explained.
The chief said he has some money set aside to purchase a new device, and Adams Memorial Hospital is willing to pay a portion of the cost.
He appeared before council to ask if, in the event of a need for additional funds, he could dip into the Betty Walters Estate fund. Permission was granted.
A 1947 graduate of Decatur High School, Miss Walters died August 29, 2021, at the age of 91. An employee of NIPSCO in Decatur from 1950 until retiring in 1990, she left in her estate what was described as “a very generous” amount of money to be used by Decatur’s fire and police departments.