Grants keep fire departments going
By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Franklin County fire departments have been able to make great strides in recent years thanks to federal funding through grants.
Many smaller and rural departments depend on grants for all types of equipment and training.
The Russellville Fire Department has been fortunate enough to secure over $1 million in grants since 2004. Other county agencies have gotten $1 million more.
Russellville Fire Capt. Steve Thornton has worked with other area agencies, as well as his own, to help secure several rounds of grants.
The most recent funding secured money to purchase weight room and exercise equipment for the Russellville station. As part of the grant requirements, each member of the department had to undergo complete physicals and is required to exercise an hour or two each day.
Fire Chief Joe Mansell said the leading cause of deaths for firefighters is heart attacks.
"It is all to help with cardiac health," Mansell said.
Other grants have allowed the department to boost efforts in community awareness and fire safety.
Thornton serves on a national panel that helps select grant applicants. Though strict requirements keep him away from any applications from Alabama, he is able to see some of the things that other departments around the nation are doing.
"He is able to help us see what we might could or should apply," Russellville Fire Marshal Bobby Malone said.
One recent grant that Thornton secured was an $80,000 HazMat ID system that no one else in north Alabama has.
The device is for all agencies in the county and allows them to look at certain substances to determine what things are. It is the same equipment the U.S. Army is using.
Thornton said the sheriff's department, Red Bay Police Department and the Phil Campbell Rescue Squad all received new thermal imaging systems through grants.
Some of the funding agencies get requires local matches, while others do not.
"We have been fortunate that our mayor and city council have been looking to the future and saw the needs for these things," Mansell said.
If not for grants, Thornton said most rural departments would not survive.
"They are what keep some of us going," he said.
