HARTSTOWN

A federal judge has given a bankrupt volunteer fire department another month to piece together a financial plan or else start selling property.

Judge Warren Bentz on Monday gave the Hartstown Volunteer Fire Department in Crawford County until Sept. 3 to give him a plan to get out of $400,000 in debt.

Bentz approved extending the deadline after Marquette Savings Bank in Chicago, which has filed a $228,000 claim against the fire company, didn't object to the idea.

Fire company officials have said they settled 80 percent of their debts, mainly by selling the newly purchased fire equipment that led to the debt. "I think it was just rank stupidity. They (volunteers) meant well. They saw a lot of nice things ... shiny new fire trucks, and used some bad judgment," said attorney John Nagurney.