GFD evaluating TAMFS grant before city acceptance

Graham Fire Department is evaluating acceptance of a grant that was awarded through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program with Texas A&M Forest Service. 

GFD and Olney Volunteer Fire Department were one of over 800 departments awarded funding. The local departments were awarded $300,000 each for a water tender truck, which is equipped with a water tank used in firefighting.

“It's a water truck with 1,000 gallons or more, over 22,000 pounds. It's basically to shovel water from one place to another that maybe doesn't have a hydrant or if we're in the county, to tender water to us so we can hook up to offloading water somewhere,” GFD Chief Jim Don Laurent said.

Laurent spoke along with City Manager Eric Garretty at the Graham City Council meeting Thursday, Oct. 23 regarding the grant. He said while the department was awarded the grant, they have not accepted it.

“We were granted a tender truck, which we will reevaluate to see if that's the best option for the city because free money is not always free money,” Laurent said. “...We're three years out to even make a truck. …We will reevaluate that and make sure we're making the right decisions for the city on that truck. A tender is not something that we are going to be really, really needing.”

Once a grant is awarded the fire chief said the vehicle would have to be in operation for 10 years and would be required to assist in other situations.

“If that truck's actually needed somewhere, it's our duty to try to get it there to help them too while it's in that 10 years,” Laurent said.

The fire chief said the department has a brush truck with 1,000 gallon capacity that can be used for instances such as alleys and trash fires.

“Jim Don and his team, they're going to put together a package on this grant and come back and say, ‘Look, here's what the grant will offer, here's the conditions, here's how much we think it's actually going to cost to acquire, here's what we think the need is,’ and (the city) council can make a decision on whether or not to move forward on it,” Garretty said. “Because we don't think it's a slam dunk necessarily on this grant.”

The Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program was launched in 2001 and has awarded over $500 million to volunteer fire departments across the state.The program assists volunteer fire departments with the purchase of equipment and training. 

Additional funding for fire and rescue equipment, personal protective equipment, training aids and dry hydrants will be awarded on a rolling basis across the next several months.