Indiana Department of Natural Resources grants will help make the job of fighting fires safer for the members of two Jennings County volunteer fire departments.
The DNR’s Division of Forestry announced July 24 that the Campbell Township department will receive $4,935 and the Spencer Township department will receive $5,000 to purchase necessary firefighting equipment.
Campbell Chief Don Biehle said it’s critically important that firefighters can see and communicate with each other while fighting a fire.
“We’ve already upgraded our radios, but we need new pagers for the new firefighters. It’s so important that there is communication when you walk into a fire” Biehle said. “Also, there usually is no electricity or even extension cords at a fire scene, so we need some battery-powered lighting. We will be purchasing battery-powered lights that mount to helmets and some other basic equipment.”
Biehle said the grant is very good and the department will make good use of it.
Spencer Township Chief Danny Simmons said the department’s grant will be used to upgrade its radio equipment.
“We have been using all analog radio equipment while the rest of the county has gone to digital radio equipment including the dispatchers. You have to be able to communicate with the other departments to get anything done right. For safety, the firefighters have to be able to communicate each other,” Simmons said.
“With this grant plus $2,000, we will be able to purchase an entire digital radio system that will enable us to communicate with the rest of the county. If we can communicate together, we can work together.”
The Campbell and Spencer Township departments were among 71 volunteer fire departments from 46 counties across the state to receive a portion of $297,000 available in Fire Assistance Grants. The money was made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and administered by Indiana’s DNR.
The grants ranged from awards of $1,500 to $5,000. Biehle said each volunteer fire department had to apply for a certain amount and match that amount with funds already raised by the department.
“If you wanted $5,000 dollars you had to have $5,000 to match it,” Biehle said.
Recipients were selected for the grants on the basis of several criteria, including population density and the acreage of public wildlands protected by the fire department.
As with other Jennings County volunteer fire departments, Campbell’s and Spencer’s rely on community projects, fundraisers and grants to provide the equipment necessary to keep their communities safe from fire.
“It seems we spend as much time raising money and chasing grants as we spend fighting fires, but it has to be done,” Biehle said.
“As long as I can remember, our township has given good support to our fundraising projects,” Simmons said, adding that the Spencer Volunteer Fire Department will have its annual chicken barbecue during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
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"With this grant plus $2,000, we will be able to purchase an entire digital radio system that will enable us to communicate with the rest of the county. If we can communicate together, we can work together."
— Danny Simmons, Spencer Township Volunteer Fire Department chief
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