Online auction selling property of defunct Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·3 min read

NEWCOMERSTOWN ‒ The vehicles and equipment of the former Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc. (NERS) are being sold through an online auction.

The auction, conducted by the company Auction Ohio, runs through 4:45 p.m. March 17.

Items being sold include a ladder truck with 164,000 miles on it; an emergency squad that has bad brakes and is is not safe to drive; a rescue boat; defibrillators; generators; and chainsaws, axes, fire extinguishers, fire helmets and boots. As of Friday, the ladder truck had received 33 bids, with the highest bid being $5,024. The emergency squad with bad brakes had received 17 bids, the highest being $905.

Reg Martin, the project manager for the court receiver in the State of Ohio's case against Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc., talks about various pieces of property to be auctioned off, at the former NERS fire station in Newcomerstown.
Reg Martin, the project manager for the court receiver in the State of Ohio's case against Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc., talks about various pieces of property to be auctioned off, at the former NERS fire station in Newcomerstown.

The auction came be viewed at auctionohio.com under the tab current auctions.

Attorney general's lawsuit

NERS has been out of business since June 2023. Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos ordered the organization to stop providing services in response to a lawsuit filed in April 2023 by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, that alleged that NERS failed to follow state laws regarding nonprofits.

NERS provided fire and emergency medical response in Newcomerstown and nearby townships. The village started its own fire department in May 2023 in response to concerns about NERS staffing and governance.

More on NERS: Receiver files report on assets of the defunct Newcomerstown Rescue Squad

NERS owned the David Barber Civic Center at 1066 E. State St., Newcomerstown, where it ran bingo operations, as well as several nearly vacant parcels of land. It operated out of a fire station at 200 S. College St., owned by the village of Newcomerstown, and owned numerous vehicles and equipment stored there.

Judge Thomakos granted authority on Feb. 6 to the court-appointed receiver, Ken Goldberg, to conduct the auction.

The attorney general, in his filing, asked that the assets of NERS be given to the attorney general for redistribution for charitable purposes for such things as fire protection, ambulance and emergency response in and around Tuscarawas County.

Reg Martin, project manager for the court receiver, said that a private firm, Peddicord Rice LePage Real Estate & Auction of Coshocton, was hired to do a complete inventory of the organization's equipment, including every item on the vehicles. The inventory took about a week. "They are very experienced with fire equipment," Martin said.

The company valued NERS property at $299,700.

State officials did a separate inventory on the drugs and medicines stored on the vehicles.

Buyers interested in civic center

A separate auction will be held to dispose of the David Barber Civic Center.

Various fire hose fittings are seen among items up for auction in the fire station formerly run by the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc., in Newcomerstown.
Various fire hose fittings are seen among items up for auction in the fire station formerly run by the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc., in Newcomerstown.

"We had three or four people who wanted to buy it for the same purpose, for a community center that could be rented," said Mayor Pat Cadle. "We had a couple of calls, could it be turned into a restaurant? We've been contacted by about seven possible bidders. It's waiting for the receiver."

Village employees helped to clean out the building, he noted.

New fire department

Meanwhile, Newcomerstown's new fire department is operating well, with 19 firefighters in the department, Cadle said. The chief is Jeff Parks, whose full-time job is with the New Philadelphia Fire Department. The Newcomerstown department handles fires in the community, while Tri-County Ambulance handles medical emergencies.

Cadle said the attorney general granted the village seven pieces of NERS equipment that it asked for ‒ a Pierce engine, tanker, a rescue truck, a brush truck, a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle, a heavy-duty washer and a Cascade machine for filling air tanks.

Fire apparatus formerly owned and run by Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc. is seen ready for auction, Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Newcomerstown.
Fire apparatus formerly owned and run by Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc. is seen ready for auction, Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Newcomerstown.

Until the auction is over, the fire department has its equipment stored at several different locations. Plans are to return to the fire station, which was built in 1910.

"We're hoping within the next couple of weeks when you get that over with, we can move back into the building," Cadle said.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Newcomerstown rescue squad equipment up for sale in online auction