EATON — Mayor Gary Wagner swore in Eaton’s newest fire captain, Andrew Bekemeier, during Eaton’s City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 21.
“As you know, we had to fill a captain vacancy, and through assessment, multiple interviews, Andy Beckmeir is, internally, who came out on top,” Eaton Fire and EMS Chief Brian Smith said. “Tonight, he’s here for his official swearing in. He’s actually been in the position about three weeks now and doing really well so far.”
Captain Bekemeier has been with Eaton Fire and EMS since 2013, and has 15 years of experience in fire service.
“I’m excited for the all the things that are ahead of me here,” Captain Bekemeier said.
Also during the meeting, the council adopted Resolution 20-18 to get rid of an old fire engine.
“We are seeking council approval to get rid of the old 1993 fire engine once we have the new one in service,” City Manager Brad Collins said. “We would intend to list the old one on GovDeals.com for Internet auction in October.”
Councilmember Matt Venable then asked if there were smaller municipalities around the area that may be interested.
“Really the only options are GovDeals.com or to have it brokered,” Smith said. “Brokering it could take a year or more, and then I think there were some issues with the way the charter is written for us to do that anyway. So, this is really the best option for us to get the most out of it.”
Mayor Wagner then asked if county departments were made aware, and Smith said that it can be advertised to them.
“I’m not gonna destroy Resolution 20-18,” Mayor Wagner said. “I’m just asking, maybe let the departments around the county know that we have this vehicle, and if they’re interested, they can step forward in that.”
Additionally, the Eaton Fire and EMS Division released its activity report for August 2020.
The report showed a combined response of 242 calls; 153 EMS responses, including 13 second Medic responses; and 89 fire/rescue response and seven general alarms with an average of 8.06 calls per day. There were also two overdose responses.
