Tiff City FD Purchases Water Tanks
Tiff City residents can look forward to a drop in their homeowner’s insurance rate in the future. The Tiff City Fire Department recently acquired new equipment for water storage in town, increasing the area’s fire protection and lowering the ISO rating.
With the help of a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the department was able to purchase two 5,000-gallon water tanks to keep at the station.
“That should lower the ISO rating by one (or) one and a half
points,” said Assistant Fire Chief Richard Huston.
Previously, tankers were refilled at a creek when empty because there are no fire hydrants in the area. Unfortunately, relying on the creek can lead to additional maintenance.
“Pumps will sometimes suck up rocks from the creek bed and cause problems down the line,” said Kevin Chew with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Chew presented the department with a check in the amount of $1,187.50 on Friday, Aug. 12.
Huston said that a local chicken farmer went out of business and put two 5,000 —gallon water tanks up for sale at a discounted price.
“It fell into our laps at the perfect time,” he said.
This addition effectively triples their water capacity, as none of their tankers hold more than 2,000 gallons.
Firefighters will now be able to quickly refill in the event of a brush fire or provide water to multiple tankers when obtaining mutual aid.
Huston noted that the pumps output 10 gallons per minute on average and will be able to refill while the crew is working a scene.
The tanks will be stored in the back of Station One and can withstand freezing temperatures.
Representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation have been traveling the state throughout the month to distribute funds to rural fire departments.
“We try to do everything we can to help these rural departments,” Chew said.
Departments are required to match 50 percent of the funds that are provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Program.
One hundred fifty-six fire departments are slated to receive checks that will help with the purchase of personal protective gear and firefighting equipment. These funds can be used towards upgrades that will help fight wildfires as well as structure fire suppression efforts.
This year, funds in the amount of $338,490.28 have been distributed to fire departments in Missouri.