More than $80k granted to Mingo Fire Department

Two grants, totaling more than $80,000, were awarded to the Mingo Fire Department to assist in much needed equipment purchases vital to both the public and the volunteers safety. Prairie Meadows and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as part of their Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, provided funds to purchase a Rescue Ranger UTV, Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), bunker gear and fire hoses.

“Both of these grants, in and of themselves, make a significant impact to our department, to the City of Mingo and most importantly to the citizens we serve,” volunteer fire fighter and Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said. “Receiving both grants has made a huge impact and reinforced the need to continue to provide the best equipment and training possible in order to have the best outcome possible during incidents.”

With the department operating on an annual budget of about $31,000, most funds set aside are required for truck and equipment maintenance, training, building maintenance and utilities, insurance and equipment, Halferty said. As a result, the department has to look for other avenues for funds to purchase additional needs for the community.

“We cannot thank Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant team enough. They have been very gracious in allowing us to obtain funding in the past, as well. The Rescue Ranger Project was the most amount we have every requested and they came through, supporting our efforts,” Halferty said. “The impact of this project will continue to make itself known over the next several years, however, we believe that is just one incident, the project is verified.”

In Mingo, the ranger will have two main uses. The first is to access difficult locations while fighting vegetation and field fires, which typically take place in the spring or fall, Halferty said. The second use includes allowing access to difficult areas, especially the bike trail, when responding to and transporting injured parties.

“The way we accomplish this is to install a combination fire suppression unit and patient transport,” Halferty said. “This combination unit has a gas motor, high pressure pump and 85 gallon water tank, with hose reel. On top of the tank sits a flat patient transport area that we can load patients onto and transport them out to an area where an ambulance is waiting.”

He even gave an example of when the new unit could have been utilized recently on a call.

“We had a fire meeting and within a day or so of that, we had a call with someone down on the bike trail that we needed one of these for. We didn’t have one so we had to use a private citizens, a farmer actually helped us get the victim out of there,” Halferty said. “We’ll probably use it more for vegetation/field fires but you can see with the trail you can’t get anything down those for vehicles. This is huge for us. We could not have done it without them.”

This is not the first time MFD has received grant funding from Prairie Meadows, who year-to-date has given $6 million to communities in need.

“When we look at the fire departments in the surrounding areas around Prairie Meadows, we like to fulfill their requests. This one was one that was important to us to fulfill,” Prairie Meadows Director of Community Relations Julie Stewart said. “It continues to help us fulfill our mission of giving back. This is what we are set up to do, it is a great way to give back, to help the local fire departments.

Funds from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program will be put toward the purchase of new SCBA gear, a vital asset for firefighters while providing sometimes life-threatening services, to the community.

“MFD’s current SCBA equipment is more than 16 years old and the composite bottles, used to store air, expire this year. SCBA is a considerable expense, some units costing more than $7,000,” Halferty said. “These units are a critical and required piece of personal protective equipment worn by firefighters during fires and hazardous incidents. Our funding request includes new units and a spare bottle for each unit.”

Congressman Dave Loebsack announced in late September Mingo would be receiving the requested grant funds.

“Our firefighters and first responders stand ready to serve us the moment disaster strikes,” Loebsack said. “This funding will ensure the Mingo Fire Department has the equipment necessary to keep our firefighters safe while responding quickly to emergencies and keeping our families safe.”

Both grants will help the department in fulfilling the 60 to 80 calls it responds to each year. Halferty said nearly two thirds of the call are EMS/Rescue related while the rest are responding to a fire situation.

“Each year we see an increase in the need for mutual aid — whether requesting help or providing help to our fire and EMS neighbors. We have worked hard to develop these relationships in order to communicate and work together,” Halferty said. “The two funding requests will not only benefit the Mingo area but all of our mutual aid partners and their citizens, as well.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com