Goodman Fire District Gets Boost
The Goodman Area Fire Protection District
is fully utilizing a $3,000 grant from the Forestry Division of the Missouri Department of
Conservation.
The Goodman Area Fire Protection District is fully utilizing a $3,000 grant from the Forestry Division of the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Goodman Fire Chief Keith Estes said the department applied for the grant in October, and officials were notified in December that they would receive the grant.
Missouri Department of Conservation Agent Terry Cook was on hand Tuesday night to present Estes with the check at Fire Station No. 1.
Estes utilized the grant to purchase a skid unit, which will be utilized for fighting brush fires. Estes was required to save and submit all the receipts to MDC for reimbursement.
In a news release Cook provided, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Forestry Division, has distributed matching grant checks to 169 fire departments to help with the purchase of personal protective gear and firefighting equipment for wildlife and structure fire suppression efforts. MDC has granted $361,564.30 to Missouri fire departments through the matching grant fund program.
The department has been the recipient of the grant several times in the past and Estes is grateful for the help. The skid unit costs approximately $9,600 and the $3,000 toward that total comes in handy.
With the crazy temperatures, rain can bring a lot of growth in brush, but then that brush dies off in the winter, Estes said. Summertime can be bad for brush fires, but so can winter, he said.
In February 2015, Newton County experienced a record number of brush and grass fires in that month, especially in comparison for the entire year.