Grant helps firefighters smother fires
Fire departments are similar to electric cooperatives in
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Foam smothers a fire and stretches a truck’s water supply. On behalf of the Sterling Rural Fire Protection District, Kershaw helped secure an Operation Round Up grant which helped the district replace a broken foam attachment. |
that they provide an important service which can often be taken for granted. When there are no fires or power outages, the service is out of sight, out of mind, implies Duane Kershaw, assistant fire chief for the Sterling Rural Fire Protection District. But when a hot tractor bearing sparks a fire or when ice snaps a power line, the frantic calls start pouring in.
The Sterling Rural Fire Protection District receives 40 or 50 calls in an average year. When their beepers go off, volunteers meet at the station in Sterling, change into their protective gear and respond to the call. During the hot and dry months, Kershaw speculates most fires are started by lightning, farm equipment, train cars — and human carelessness.
The fire district opened in 1973. Since then, trucks and technology have evolved — and so have fires. Vehicles fueled by E85, a gasoline mixture with 85 percent ethanol, pose a unique challenge because if a car or truck using E85 fuel is on fire, water alone cannot extinguish the flames.
“It takes a special foam to suppress the oxygen and smother a petroleum fire,” Kershaw explains. “E85 burns very clean. Unless you would notice the heat waves, it might be burning and you would not be aware of it.”
When a foam attachment on one of the fire trucks broke, Kershaw knew the district needed to replace the attachment. But he also knew the attachment was costly — and the district is always low on funds because it relies on mill levies, taxes and donations.
Kershaw and his wife, Sandi, live north of McKenzie in the Capital Electric Cooperative service area. Kershaw says he was familiar with the co-op’s Operation Round Up program because he
reads the center pages of his North Dakota LIVING magazine.
“The farmer in me is always looking to find free money,” he jokes.
On behalf of the district, he applied for and received an Operation Round Up grant to help cover the cost of the foam attachment.
“Operation Round Up is a wonderful program,” he advocates. “Without the co-op’s help, we would not have been able to buy the equipment.”
To find out how you can apply for an Operation Round Up grant, click here.