By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

    Despite the $290 spent on fuel, food and hotel costs, the Madison Fire Department saved the city roughly $20,000 by traveling to Ohio to pick up needed equipment.
    According to MFD Captain and fire marshal Gene Porter, the fire department found used Hurst rescue tools (better known as “Jaws of Life”) for $3,775 on GovDeals.com, a Web site that government agencies use to sell surplus or confiscated property on the internet.
    According to Porter, governments “can’t outright sell” property.
    “One of two legal ways for governments to get rid of property is to auction it or, two, take sealed bids on it,” Porter said.
    Functioning much like eBay – there are bids and deadlines – GovDeals.com allows governments to auction off property.
    The fire department found the items, and began bidding.
    “The auction closed on September 14 at 7 p.m.,” Porter said. “We left on Thursday, Sept. 17. We drove up to Sidney, Ohio, got in there about 7 at night…We met the fire chief at 8 a.m. the next morning, picked up the tools and headed back to Madison. It was about a nine-and-a-half hour trip [one way].”
    The “Jaws of Life” – a rescue and extraction tool used by emergency services – consisted of several components: hoses, a cutter, spreader, combination tool, two rams and a couple of hose splitters, according to Porter.
    “If we bought these tools new, we’d pay $23,000 or $24,000 for them,” Porter said. “But we paid $3,775 for the tools, $290 for fuel, food and a hotel [room], about $4,100 total…We saved $20,000 on purchasing those.”
    Why go to all the trouble? “We do have a normal operating budget,” Porter said. “With budget constraints the way they are these days, it’s hard to ask taxpayers to expand our services. Trying to do that [purchase these tools] out of the normal operating budget puts stress on what we do now.”
    The fire department elected to use funds donated by Walmart and proceeds from the recently held Firefighters 5K for the purchase.
    The Madison Fire Department would like to thank Walmart and supporters of the Firefighters 5K for their help in making the purchase of these tools possible.