Chief Victor Voss of the Amherst (Wis.) Fire District wants everyone to know that the district operates a fleet of modern apparatus. As part of that effort, he has identified replacement dates for each of the apparatus and posted them on the Web.

Currently, the district operates out of a single station with one engine, one quint, two tankers and several other vehicles, plus a reserve engine that doubles as a supply pumper. A second station and several additional apparatus are expected in the near future. The district protects a largely rural area, including three villages and the surrounding countryside.

"When I took the chief's position five-and-a-half years ago, one of my first jobs was to identify the capital improvements we needed," said Voss. "Part of that job was to establish replacement cycles for our apparatus. Our personnel reviewed the typical use of our apparatus and assigned replacement dates that would give us maximum life while still keeping them modern and efficient."

The results are posted on the district's Web site for all to see. For example, the photo of Engine 8, which is a 1986 model that runs as the second-out engine, has a caption that reads "Due for replacement 2011." Each of the other pumpers, tankers and other apparatus has a replacement date noted under its photo.

"We want to make sure everyone understands the need to replace our apparatus on a regular basis," said Voss. "We talk about it at our meetings, and we tell the public about it during our open-house events. When someone questions it, we show them all the improvements that have been made between our older reserve rig and our newer front-line rigs and explain how those improvements help us work more safely and efficiently."

To view the Amherst Fire District Web site, go to www.amherstfd.org.