CLEARLAKE OAKS – This week Northshore Fire Protection District marked the addition of a new water
tender made possible through a federal grant.
Congressman Mike Thompson visited the district's Clearlake Oaks Fire Station on Monday to celebrate
the new equipment, which Fire Chief Jim Robbins said is the district's second water tender.
Robbins said the water tender – built by Fouts Brothers Fire Equipment of Smyrna, Georgia – will be
based at the Clearlake Oaks station. The other one the district has is in Upper Lake.
Accompanying Thompson were representatives from the US Department of Agriculture Rural
Development Santa Rosa office.
A grant through USDA Rural Development's Economic Impact Initiative Grant Program helped make
the water tender purchase possible, as Lake County News has reported.
The agency gave the district a $100,000 grant in June, and the district provided another $57,000 to
pay for the equipment, Robbins said.
In September the district also received 20 new air packs and 20 new lightweight air tanks paid for
through a $78,000 grant of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, also through USDA Rural
Development. The district supplemented that grant with $25,000 to purchase the new equipment.
The district, with a $2.3 million annual budget, has 17 paid staff and 72 volunteers to cover 228,300
acres or 350 square miles, making it the largest fire district by area in the state, as Lake County News
has reported.
Robbins said they're working on some new grant applications to USDA Rural Development now, hoping
to receive funds for a new ambulance for the Clearlake Oaks station.
The district also wants a new machine that fills air bottles for firefighters' breathing apparatus. The
machine would be built right into a truck, Robbins said. The district currently is looking for a company
to build the equipment.
Article from DEC. 4th 2009.
Photo and Text from lakeconews.com
tender made possible through a federal grant.
Congressman Mike Thompson visited the district's Clearlake Oaks Fire Station on Monday to celebrate
the new equipment, which Fire Chief Jim Robbins said is the district's second water tender.
Robbins said the water tender – built by Fouts Brothers Fire Equipment of Smyrna, Georgia – will be
based at the Clearlake Oaks station. The other one the district has is in Upper Lake.
Accompanying Thompson were representatives from the US Department of Agriculture Rural
Development Santa Rosa office.
A grant through USDA Rural Development's Economic Impact Initiative Grant Program helped make
the water tender purchase possible, as Lake County News has reported.
The agency gave the district a $100,000 grant in June, and the district provided another $57,000 to
pay for the equipment, Robbins said.
In September the district also received 20 new air packs and 20 new lightweight air tanks paid for
through a $78,000 grant of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, also through USDA Rural
Development. The district supplemented that grant with $25,000 to purchase the new equipment.
The district, with a $2.3 million annual budget, has 17 paid staff and 72 volunteers to cover 228,300
acres or 350 square miles, making it the largest fire district by area in the state, as Lake County News
has reported.
Robbins said they're working on some new grant applications to USDA Rural Development now, hoping
to receive funds for a new ambulance for the Clearlake Oaks station.
The district also wants a new machine that fills air bottles for firefighters' breathing apparatus. The
machine would be built right into a truck, Robbins said. The district currently is looking for a company
to build the equipment.
Article from DEC. 4th 2009.
Photo and Text from lakeconews.com
| The new water tender, purchased with help from a United State Department of Agricultural Rural Development grant, is one of only two such pieces of equipment in the entire Northshore Fire Protection District, the third largest district in size in the entire state. Photo courtesy of Northshore Fire Protection District. |