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Hot news: Fire departments land thousands of dollars

From Staff Reports

Published: October 29, 2009

Some McDowell fire departments are ready to respond with new equipment, thanks to state grant money.
Old Fort Volunteer Fire Department was awarded an $18,408.25 grant through the 2009 Volunteer Fire Department Fund from the State of North Carolina.
Pleasant Gardens Volunteer Fire Department will receive $12,095.79. And an award of $8,093.10 goes to the Crooked Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
The department will use the money to purchase needed equipment. The equipment is bought using matching funds and must be approved by the Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal.
"Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North
Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don't grow with their responsibilities," Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Wayne Goodwin said. "Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely."
The grants program has supplemented local fundraising for fire departments for decades. Old Fort Volunteer Fire Department has received a total of $84,307.17 from the Volunteer Fire Department Fund in the past 22 years since the program began.
The P.G. Fire Department has received $151,926.20 and the Crooked Creek department has been awarded a total of $96,082.25 in the same span of time.
The General Assembly created the Volunteer Fire Department Fund in 1988 to help volunteer units raise money for equipment and supplies. The grant funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to an approved amount, by monies raised locally to purchase necessary equipment. Since the program's inception, the Department of Insurance has distributed more than $65 million to volunteer fire departments across the state.