The Tamora Volunteer Fire Department asked Seward County residents for their financial support during the Seward County Gives campaign this month.
Tamora VFD Fire Chief Jon Propst said the department needed some new gear to ensure the best service possible for its citizens.
The community donated about $3,500 between May 4 and 9, Propst said. The Seward County Gives program matches all the donations that are made as much as it can with the matching funds it has available.
With those matching funds, Propst said he believes they will meet, and perhaps slightly surpass, their goal of raising $5,000. They will find out in July and plan to use the money to purchase two digital thermal imaging cameras and a gas detector.
The cameras will help Tamora volunteer firefighters pinpoint hot spots in fires and therefore be able to focus their efforts in the most effective places possible. Propst said without finding those spots, which can sometimes be a bit buried, firefighters may think a fire is put out and leave the scene but get a call an hour later that it has restarted.
“That’s why we want the thermal imagers – to be able to get in, find the hot spots, get them put out. Then, we won’t be returning to the call later on,” he said. “Usually, when the second call comes in, it just causes that much more damage.”
The gas detector will allow them to detect gas leaks so they can prevent fires and explosions.
“We had a woman last year who had carbon monoxide, and we went and grabbed Seward’s (detector) and found it was in the furnace. So, the lady had to have people come out to fix her furnace. At least we saved her life,” Propst said. “That’s the key – detecting where it's at and finding the leak.”
Those still interested in donating are welcome to contact the department directly. Propst said fundraisers like these are essential parts of keeping volunteer fire departments going despite inflation.
“In the last five or six years, fire trucks have doubled in price, and it's just hard for us to be able to survive on just the amount of money we've got,” he said. “Plus, on the other end, we’ve got the state law only allows us to raise our operating budget 2% or 3% a year.
“So, when you have inflation going at 7, 8 or 10% and you can only raise your budget to 2% or 3%, you’re getting behind in eight ball.”
Location manager for Tamora’s Central Valley Ag Brody Duncan said Tamora CVA felt it was important to donate $500 to the cause and help ensure the TVFD has the equipment they need because anyone in the community could need the department’s services at any time.
Two Tamora CVA employees are part of the department.
“What it boils down to is these guys are volunteering their time at all hours of the morning, and not everybody can do that. So, I feel like it’s our responsibility, or our helpful nature, to help them out and make sure they have the right equipment that they need to successfully do that,” he said. “They are volunteering their time, so let's make that a little easier and get them some new equipment that’s better.”
