Jan. 26, 2009

PART TWO OF TWO

Local VFDs work hard just to get by

By Roy Mitchell

CENTRE — While rural volunteer fire departments scrimp and save, serving the county's farm and forest-clad precincts, they function much the same way as their equivalents across the country. How do fire departments in Cherokee County's larger towns tighten their belts?

Cedar Bluff's VFD, like their smaller Cherokee County community counterparts, must meet the needs of the city on a budget.

“Most of the things we purchase are either used or refurbished,” said Assistant Fire Chief Shane Woodham. “Right now we're in the need of air packs. Since we didn't get our last grant, we'll have to look at buying refurbished ones.”

To make ends meet, the department must also raise funds. Woodham said he and his fellow volunteers peddle barbecue plates at Liberty Day -- Cedar Bluff's annual Independence Day celebration -- and flowers for Mother's Day. They are also pondering the possibility of hosting a bass tournament this spring.

The department does find an economic advantage in protecting a township.

“Besides funding from the town every year, we send out a donation letter to everybody in the town requesting donations and stating our main needs,” Woodham said. “We received right around $9,000 for turn-out gear a couple of years ago.”

Gaylesville Chief Tommy Storey said municipal fire departments, have to be tight with their funds, too.

“You have to be on a strict budget,” he said. “We call every company we can to find the best prices on equipment. You just have to cut corners.”

Gaylesville's department, which protects parts of Cherokee's northern nook, received 13 sets of turn-out gear from a fire department in Georgia about two years ago, and they have used a BINGO fundraiser as well.

“The town also helps some with our needs,” Storey added.

Spring Garden Chief Butch Jacobs said he and other mechanically-inclined volunteers do most of the necessary maintenance. Still, fundraisers are a integral part of operating his department.

“We have done a barbecue and turkey shoot, plus we've had lots of donations from the community,” he said.

Spring Garden VFD, serving Cherokee's southern edge, has been fortunate to receive five of the last six grants they've requested.

“We had hand-me-down trucks from the other departments” before the grants came, Jacobs said. “You wouldn't have near the equipment without borrowing from other departments.”

Sand Rock Fire Chief Steve Oliver said he is grateful for the durability of one of his department's older vehicles.

“We still have our original military surplus truck,” he said. “It's our brush truck, and we've had it 26 years.”

The Sand Rock VFD, which protects the plateau in western Cherokee, has also browsed the Internet for firefighting bargains, and they eagerly accept the support of the community.

“We've done road blocks and had donations from private citizens,” Oliver said. “The town of Sand Rock also helps us out both financially and with equipment.”

Joe Sonaty, chief of the Leesburg VFD, is fortunate to have local industry behind him. His department receives donations from KTH and Fruit of the Loom.

Sonaty said Dodd Construction also helps the department with repair work and PennCo has provided them paint.

Like other Cherokee County departments, Leesburg's is grateful for any gear or funding passed along to them. They recently have been the beneficiary of old turn-out gear handed down from the Centre Fire Department, as well as from a comrade sympathetic to their plight.

“From a retired firefighter with an old surplus item warehouse, we were able to acquire a deck gun that would have normally been $1,500,” said Sonaty.

Even in Centre, the largest municipality in the county, the fire department has to pinch pennies.

“You just can't go out and get brand new stuff every year,” said Fire Chief Kevin Ware, “We have been tightening our belts. We do fundraisers, and we get some donations. Wal-Mart donates $1,000 to us every year.”

Ware admitted his department probably has more than any other in the county.
“The city has told us, 'If you need it, we'll get it.'”

But Ware said he is fully aware that funding for any fire department is more of an investment than a hand-out.

“When we get money from the city, it's not our money,” he said. “It goes back into the city. It's used to protect citizens and their property, and it improves our Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, lowering insurance premiums.”