Some members of Tipler’s new fire department pose with their pumper/tanker truck and brush truck. From left are Roger Kelter, also a town board supervisor; Town Chairman Fran Modschiedler; Fire Chief Kenny Henning; Assistant Fire Chief Rick Sledge; and Bob Benter, also a town board supervisor. (Nikki Younk/Daily News Photo)

TIPLER, Wis. — Florence may be one of Wisconsin’s least populated counties but it certainly isn’t lacking in volunteer firefighters, with five of the county’s eight towns having long-standing fire departments.

And that number rose to six in March, when the tiny town of Tipler in the northwest corner of the county put its very first volunteer fire department into service.

Support from local volunteers, as well as plenty of donations of firefighting equipment, made the department a reality, Tipler Town Chairman Fran Modschiedler said.

“It goes to show the support the people of the town have,” Tipler Fire Chief Kenny Henning added. “They want to contribute and help.”

Tipler for years had received fire protection services from its neighbor to the south, the town of Long Lake.

But Long Lake officials wanted to increase Tipler’s annual $6,000 fee to more than double the amount, according to minutes from Tipler’s annual town meeting in April 2017. Residents at the meeting unanimously rejected a proposal to raise the tax levy to cover the extra cost, according to the minutes.

Long Lake Town Chairman Bill Streu confirmed his board asked Tipler for more fire protection funds, but he pointed out the fee hadn’t been increased in 10 years and his board had been willing to negotiate the cost with Tipler.

But Tipler officials in November 2017 voted to create their own fire department when the contract with Long Lake expired in March, according to meeting minutes.

The new fire department won’t cost Tipler taxpayers any more than they already had been paying, Modschiedler said, since it will utilize the funds that previously went to Long Lake. Grant funding also may be available, he pointed out.

“I wish them the best of luck,” Streu said of Tipler’s new department, adding he hopes they will enter into a mutual aid agreement with Long Lake so the departments can help each other to best serve the residents of both towns.

Long Lake Fire Chief Kevin Haag echoed the sentiment.

“Be assured that the Long Lake Volunteer Fire Department will always be there if our assistance is needed by the town of Tipler,” he said.

Long Lake firefighters will continue to provide “the best possible emergency services” to the people of Long Lake and the town of Popple River in neighboring Forest County, Haag added.

The Tipler Fire Department will have mutual aid agreements with surrounding towns’ fire departments, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the National Forestry Service, Henning pointed out.

Although Tipler’s new department has 22 firefighters on its roster, only nine are trained at this time, Modschiedler said. The rest will undergo training this fall, he explained, as many are now busy with an emergency medical technician course.

Those without training still can assist on emergency calls but can’t do everything a trained firefighter can do, Modschiedler said.

And town officials said most emergency calls in the Tipler area aren’t even for fires, but for assisting the rescue squad on traffic accidents with extrication and traffic control or on patient lift assists.

Wildfires are the next most prevalent call, as the town is in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, followed by structure fires, with Modschiedler noting the town only has had one in the past decade.

Even with enough volunteers, a fire department can’t function without basic needs such as a fire truck and firefighting equipment. And Tipler was lucky to receive sizable donations from several sources.

Jim Gilligan, a Tipler town employee, used to be a firefighter in Illinois, and he and Roger Edmonds, assistant chief of the Newport, Ill., Fire Department, knew many of the departments in that area would donate old equipment to other fire departments, Modschiedler said. A fire department in Grayslake, Ill., in October 2017 agreed to sell its used 4,000-gallon pumper/tanker to Tipler for $1 once it received a new one.

Ron Naab of the Allenton, Wis., Fire Department, who collects firefighting equipment from all over and sends the items to developing countries, gave Tipler turnout gear and helmets, Modschiedler said.

The Crandon, Wis., Fire Department contributed hoses, while the Fence Fire Department donated air pack frames, he added. Still more donations came in from the Lamartine, Wis., Fire Department, care of Russ Boodry, and the Newport, Ill., Fire Department.

Although some of this equipment has expiration dates, Modschiedler confirmed all items still have a good amount of usable life.

And yet another donation is in the works, as the Potawatomi tribe in Crandon later this month is set to give Tipler funds to cover an equipped brush truck, town officials said. The brush truck will be able to access forest areas the pumper/tanker may not be able to reach, Henning explained.

The town plans to have a donor appreciation celebration some time this summer.

Tipler now joins Florence, Aurora, Homestead, Fence and Long Lake as Florence County towns with their own fire departments. Only the towns of Commonwealth and Fern don’t have their own departments.

Nikki Younk can be reached at nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.com or 906-774-2772, ext. 41.