COLUMBUS, OH - The Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department in Ross County has received a 1983 Ford fire engine with a five person cab, five complete self-contained breathing apparatus and spare bottles through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). These items had an original value of $31,930
The fire equipment is made available by the U.S. Forest Service's Federal Excess Personal Property program, which provides vehicles and other fire-fighting equipment to rural fire departments in eastern and southeastern Ohio at no charge. The ODNR Division of Forestry administers the program in Ohio.
"This program helps local fire officials obtain important fire-fighting equipment that their limited budgets might not otherwise permit," said John Dorka, chief of the Division of Forestry. "The budget for a typical Ohio rural volunteer fire department is $35,000 per year, with some fire departments operating on $10,000 or less annually."
The Division of Forestry currently has cooperative wildfire suppression agreements with 325 fire departments located within the division's fire protection area (eastern, southeastern, and the Maumee Forest area of northwestern Ohio). Items obtained through the federal program are provided to local fire departments under a loan agreement. When the equipment is no longer useable or desired, the fire department must return it to the ODNR Division of Forestry for disposal or reassignment. Since July 1996, local fire departments in Ohio have acquired more than $7,000,000 worth of equipment through the program, including fire engines, tanker trucks, pick-up trucks, vans, portable generators and pumps, compressors, hoses, nozzles, protective clothing and safety equipment.
Fire departments interested in additional information or in participating in the program should contact Rick Maier at 740-773-1574.