Grants Help Rural Departments Make Community Safer
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Three rural Alabama fire departments were awarded grants by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wednesday. Each will receive around two hundred thousand dollars to buy new fire trucks.
Christmas came early for three rural Alabama fire departments.
More than a half a million dollars is earmarked for the Ladonia and Fort Mitchell Volunteer Fire Departments in Russell County, and the Farmville department in Lee County .
For the Ladonia Volunteers their newest truck is a 2001 model. But after that the next truck was bought in 1985.
So you can see just what a new truck means not only for the department but for the community as well.
It's not unlike the many volunteer fire departments across Alabama. No full time employees but full time problems. And Ladonia is growing, adding to the number of residents they serve.
"It will enable us to do our job a lot better, a lot safer and when you know you have a secure water supply you're able to do more on a fire scene."said Danny McLendon, Ladonia VFD Asst. Chief.
Ladonia secured almost two hundred thousand dollars through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program.
With the purchase of a new tanker truck, the Ladonia Volunteers will now bring twice as much water to a scene as before. Badly needed because fire hydrants in some areas are few and far between.
But one of the big concerns for the Ladonia Volunteers is growth, three hundred home going up right here. And that means more calls and the need for better equipment.
But in its simplest form, the new truck means both firefighters and the community are safer.
"The more water we can get on scene initially, the quicker we can attack the fire and get it put out before it gets too big of a had start on us." said McLendon.
The bid process for the new truck begins immediately.
Ladonia hopes to have it ready for it's first call within the next six months to a year.
