Investing in firefighters

Elks donates $2,500 to Oneida Castle Fire Department for new equipment

ONEIDA CASTLE, N.Y. >> Continuing their mission to invest in the community, the Oneida Elks Lodge worked with the Oneida Castle Volunteer Fire Department to secure new carbon monoxide and gas detectors through a $2,500 donation.

“The grant was to replace our aging detector,” OCVFD Fire Chief John Seelman said. “They’re up to date and state of the art now. They’re rechargeable and can be hardwired into our apparatus.”

The Elks Lodge National Foundation distributes money through the community every year. In years past, the Elks Lodge has helped the Oneida Fire Department, Oneida Police Department and Karing Kitchen secure grant money to help them, whether it be for new turn-out gear for firefighters or feeding local families.

“What the Elks Lodge is looking to do is be involved with the community,” Oneida Elks Secretary George Winne said. “We were looking to get beyond the city of Oneida.”

Winne said Oneida Elks Exalted Ruler Matt Malinowski made it an effort to put the word out to Elks Lodge members, asking if they knew of a worthy organization.

Marc Docous is volunteer firefighter with the OCVFD, amember of its board and a member of the Oneida Elks Lodge; so he broughtmembers of the OCVFD

to talk to the Elks.

“They told us what they wanted to purchase and what it would do for the community,” Winne said. “And that matched up with the goals of the Elks.”

Docous said the OCVFD gets multiple calls a year for multiple gas and carbon monoxide detectors going off — especially in the winter.

Seelman said the old detector the department had could only detect carbon monoxide and is big and bulky. With the new detectors, firefighters can carry them in the palm of their hand or attach it to their gear.

“It’s one less tool in your hand,” Seelman said.

Grants like the one the Elks Lodge have donated are important to emergency service, because maintaining a budget can be a difficult process.

In the fall of 2018, the OCVFD were awarded a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant to replace their aging SCBA air packs, totaling $134,900 to acquire 19 newair packs and 38 bottles. Theairpacks came complete with a thermal imaging camera built into the pack.

Anyone with questions regarding the Oneida Castle Fire Department can call at 315-363-4406

The Elks National Foundation is the charitable giving arm of The Elks, with a mission to help Elks build stronger communities by investing where Elks live and work.

For more information on Elks National Foundation, visit www.elks.org/enf

For those interested in becoming a member of the Oneida Elks Lodge, call 315363-2370.

CHARLES PRITCHARD — ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH OCVFD Fire Chief John Seelman attaches one of the new carbon monoxide detectors to a piece of turn-out gear at the Oneida Castle Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019.

CHARLES PRITCHARD — ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH The Oneida Elks Lodge presents the Oneida Volunteer Fire Department with the check for $2,500to purchase new gas detectors. Pictured: Oneida Elks Secretary George Winne, right, Oneida Elks Exalted Ruler Matt Malinowski, Firefighter Marc Docous, Fire Chief John Seelman, OCVFD Board of Director President Dick Dingman, Firefighter Tim Resig and Assistant Chief John Corney.