The Cedar Bluff Town Council has approved the purchase of new boots and other equipment for the fire department.

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Garner made the request during Monday’s council meeting.

He says some of the firefighters are wearing boots that are 15 and 16 years old and are not OSHA approved.

In October there will be an ISO inspection in Cedar Bluff and Garner says that if the equipment is not up-to-date, they will get points marked off.

Garner says he expects that Cedar Bluff will not be able to retain its current ISO rating.

Of course, the ISO rating determines insurance rates.

Garner says he is going to be working between now and the inspection to prevent the ISO rating from taking too much of a hit.

The 15 pairs of boots cost 3-thousand 450 dollars while the purchase of helmets, gloves and hoods totals 1-thousand 604 dollars.

Also Monday night, Garner also asked the council to consider allowing the renovation of the fire station to add a living quarters.

He wants to see the building used to house an ambulance and crew.

Garner says Cherokee EMS is housed near Wal Mart in Centre and half of their calls are on the Cedar Bluff side of the causeway.

Having an ambulance stationed in Cedar Bluff would cut down on the arrival times for emergency calls.

He said the living quarters could be completed with little expense to the town.

Garner then suggested that if Cherokee EMS were not willing to locate an ambulance in Cedar Bluff, the town should look at other services.

Mayor Martha Baker said the council will discuss the issue at its next workshop.

Also Monday night, the council approved the addition Cody Dawson as a firefighter.