Volunteer fire departments in Forrest County recently received a welcome gift in the form of two new fire trucks and 60 new self-contained breathing apparatuses to use throughout the county.
Members of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors announced the additions at their July 17 board meeting, which were a result of bills recently passed by the Mississippi Legislature. In addition to the two trucks that were provided, fire officials are looking forward to adding a third one to the ranks in the near future.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the assistance and funding through the state legislature, and of course the board of supervisors,” Forrest County Fire Coordinator Chip Brown said. “The whole project, once we put (the third) truck in service, will be a little over $2 million (for this equipment).”
The two trucks that were recently purchased were approximately $900,00 each, while the upcoming vehicle is expected to cost anywhere between $650,000 and $675,000. The breathing apparatuses, otherwise known as “air packs,” run approximately $10,000 a piece.
“We just spent $579,000 on air packs, which brings us, county-wide, in compliance (with what we need) for air packs,” Brown said. “Plus, they’ll be operable throughout the county; everybody will be running the same air packs.
“These things have to be replaced every so often,” Brown said. “Everything we have now will be up to da
Volunteer fire departments in Forrest County recently received a welcome gift in the form of two new fire trucks and 60 new self-contained breathing apparatuses to use throughout the county.
Members of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors announced the additions at their July 17 board meeting, which were a result of bills recently passed by the Mississippi Legislature. In addition to the two trucks that were provided, fire officials are looking forward to adding a third one to the ranks in the near future.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the assistance and funding through the state legislature, and of course the board of supervisors,” Forrest County Fire Coordinator Chip Brown said. “The whole project, once we put (the third) truck in service, will be a little over $2 million (for this equipment).”
The two trucks that were recently purchased were approximately $900,00 each, while the upcoming vehicle is expected to cost anywhere between $650,000 and $675,000. The breathing apparatuses, otherwise known as “air packs,” run approximately $10,000 a piece.
“We just spent $579,000 on air packs, which brings us, county-wide, in compliance (with what we need) for air packs,” Brown said. “Plus, they’ll be operable throughout the county; everybody will be running the same air packs.
Volunteer fire departments in Forrest County recently received a welcome gift in the form of two new fire trucks and 60 new self-contained breathing apparatuses to use throughout the county.
Members of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors announced the additions at their July 17 board meeting, which were a result of bills recently passed by the Mississippi Legislature. In addition to the two trucks that were provided, fire officials are looking forward to adding a third one to the ranks in the near future.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the assistance and funding through the state legislature, and of course the board of supervisors,” Forrest County Fire Coordinator Chip Brown said. “The whole project, once we put (the third) truck in service, will be a little over $2 million (for this equipment).”
The two trucks that were recently purchased were approximately $900,00 each, while the upcoming vehicle is expected to cost anywhere between $650,000 and $675,000. The breathing apparatuses, otherwise known as “air packs,” run approximately $10,000 a piece.
“We just spent $579,000 on air packs, which brings us, county-wide, in compliance (with what we need) for air packs,” Brown said. “Plus, they’ll be operable throughout the county; everybody will be running the same air packs.
“These things have to be replaced every so often,” Brown said. “Everything we have now will be up to date, according to the (state fire department).
“We were running some old, outdated gear that needed to be replaced, so this allowed us to do it.”
One of the newly-purchased trucks will be used at the McLaurin Volunteer Fire Department, while the other will be in service at the Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department.
The purchases were made possible by $750,000 from an appropriations bill passed by the Mississippi Legislature, along with $250,000 from the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program from the Mississippi Insurance Department. The legislature’s portion was spurred along with the help of Representatives Missy McGee and Larry Byrd, along with Sen. Chris Johnson.
“We were excited to get to do that for the county,” said Terri Bell, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “We determined this was a pretty important need when we first got (into this current administration) due to the age of our fire trucks and the air packs.
“So we jumped on it right away and asked for some help (from the legislature) in Jackson, so Senator Chris Johnson and Representative Larry Byrd were instrumental in getting the county (these funds) allocated for this purpose.
Bell said the volunteer firemen are more than deserving of the new equipment.
“These volunteer firemen, they are strictly volunteers,” she said. “They don’t get any pay for this, and they are out there risking their lives, so we wanted to make sure that they had all of the protective gear that they could have to make sure that they are as safe as possible when they are performing their duties.
“So we were excited to be able to meet this need in a timely manner, and thanks to our legislative caucus up there in Jackson, we were able to do it.”
“These things have to be replaced every so often,” Brown said. “Everything we have now will be up to date, according to the (state fire department).
“We were running some old, outdated gear that needed to be replaced, so this allowed us to do it.”
One of the newly-purchased trucks will be used at the McLaurin Volunteer Fire Department, while the other will be in service at the Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department.
The purchases were made possible by $750,000 from an appropriations bill passed by the Mississippi Legislature, along with $250,000 from the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program from the Mississippi Insurance Department. The legislature’s portion was spurred along with the help of Representatives Missy McGee and Larry Byrd, along with Sen. Chris Johnson.
“We were excited to get to do that for the county,” said Terri Bell, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “We determined this was a pretty important need when we first got (into this current administration) due to the age of our fire trucks and the air packs.
“So we jumped on it right away and asked for some help (from the legislature) in Jackson, so Senator Chris Johnson and Representative Larry Byrd were instrumental in getting the county (these funds) allocated for this purpose.
Bell said the volunteer firemen are more than deserving of the new equipment.
“These volunteer firemen, they are strictly volunteers,” she said. “They don’t get any pay for this, and they are out there risking their lives, so we wanted to make sure that they had all of the protective gear that they could have to make sure that they are as safe as possible when they are performing their duties.
“So we were excited to be able to meet this need in a timely manner, and thanks to our legislative caucus up there in Jackson, we were able to do it.”
te, according to the (state fire department).
“We were running some old, outdated gear that needed to be replaced, so this allowed us to do it.”
One of the newly-purchased trucks will be used at the McLaurin Volunteer Fire Department, while the other will be in service at the Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department.
The purchases were made possible by $750,000 from an appropriations bill passed by the Mississippi Legislature, along with $250,000 from the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program from the Mississippi Insurance Department. The legislature’s portion was spurred along with the help of Representatives Missy McGee and Larry Byrd, along with Sen. Chris Johnson.
“We were excited to get to do that for the county,” said Terri Bell, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “We determined this was a pretty important need when we first got (into this current administration) due to the age of our fire trucks and the air packs.
“So we jumped on it right away and asked for some help (from the legislature) in Jackson, so Senator Chris Johnson and Representative Larry Byrd were instrumental in getting the county (these funds) allocated for this purpose.
Bell said the volunteer firemen are more than deserving of the new equipment.
“These volunteer firemen, they are strictly volunteers,” she said. “They don’t get any pay for this, and they are out there risking their lives, so we wanted to make sure that they had all of the protective gear that they could have to make sure that they are as safe as possible when they are performing their duties.
“So we were excited to be able to meet this need in a timely manner, and thanks to our legislative caucus up there in Jackson, we were able to do it.”
