Putting cows on the front page since 1885.

Freedom Twp. Fire Co. Resumes Monthly Dinners, Awarded Grant for Rescue Equipment

The Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company resumed its monthly Sunday dinner fundraiser this past weekend after taking the summer off.

Fire Chief Ron Henry estimates the dinners bring in about $3,000 each month, money he said helps keep the fire company in business.

While the pandemic forced a halt to the monthly dinners for much of 2020, the fire company started them again last year as a strictly drive-up service.

This year, diners will have a choice of take-out or coming inside for a sit-down dinner.

“We did try to resume eat-in last spring, but people were used to just driving up, so we went back to that,” Henry said. “We wanted to start this fall off by offering both options.”

Assistant Fire Chief Tim James said the fire company was awarded the Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) to purchase new rescue tools and other equipment. The AFG is awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fire companies upgrade or replace equipment.

Freedom applied for the grant earlier this year and began looking at rescue tools used to extract victims of car accidents from their vehicles. James said the fire company received three bids for rescue tools and decided to purchase from Genesis Rescue Tools.

The new rescue tools, which include a cutter, a spreader, and a ram tool, are battery operated which fire company officials said will make them lighter and easier to use.

James said the fire company will also be purchasing new breathing apparatus and hoses.

“A lot of the equipment we use has a life span and the breathing apparatus is reaching its end,” James said.

 

Reader Comments(0)