WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — The Concord-Green Fire Department has brought in nearly $131,000 in grants and donations over the past year, funding that has already replaced aging breathing equipment and paid for new portable radios, the department said in a Facebook post.
The all-volunteer department, which serves Concord, Green and Perry townships out of Station 300 on Worthington Road, said the largest piece of that total came from the state’s Small County Volunteer Fire Department Grant, which awarded the department the maximum $50,000. The department used the money to buy seven self-contained breathing apparatus units, replacing SCBAs that were 15 to 20 years old.
The state grant program, created by the Ohio General Assembly and administered by the Department of Commerce’s Division of State Fire Marshal, makes up to $50,000 available to volunteer departments in counties with 70,000 or fewer residents. Fayette County’s population falls well within that threshold.
The department also received $7,403.52 through a MARCS radio grant, which covered subscription fees for the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, Ohio’s statewide radio network for police, fire and EMS agencies, and paid for two new portable radios, according to the post.
Two more sources of funding are still pending. The department said it anticipates being approved for a grant from Valero of up to $10,000 to buy rescue air bags and the equipment needed to operate them, along with a donation of up to $63,000 from Amazon that would replace the department’s remaining older SCBAs and add spare bottles, batteries and face pieces for firefighters.
Combined, the four sources add up to nearly $131,000 in equipment funding over 12 months, the department said. “The men and women of this department sought these grants and donations to keep our department up to date with the latest and best equipment out there and we appreciate their efforts and applaud their success,” the department said in its post.
Concord-Green firefighters also help cover neighboring departments through mutual aid, including recently staffing Washington Court House Fire/Rescue’s station while that department fought a grain elevator fire. The department is separately in early planning for a possible new fire station and has been asking residents in its coverage area for input on that project.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Concord-Green Fire Department.
