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La Center FD Gets Grant for New Firetruck

Due to grant application help from CHIEF Grants, the city will receive $184,500 in a Homeland Security grant to replace its lone 1978 firetruck.

La Center firefighters
After 3 Rejections, a New Pumper!
This 1978 Chevy Boardman pumper/tanker (above) used to be La Center City FD's only vehicle. For 3 years grants for a new pumper were rejected. More »

The New Pumper (below)
With CHIEF Grants' help, La Center applied for and won a $185,000 vehicle grant under 2004 AFGP. La Center Chief Mike Wicker and his firefighters took delivery of their new pumper, below, in 2005:
The new La Center Pumper
By Matt Sanders
Originally Published in The Paducah Sun, Sept. 9, 2004. Reprinted with permission.

LA CENTER, Ky. – The La Center City Fire Department has one 1978 model firetruck and an annual operating budget of approximately $20,000 to cover the five square miles in this Ballard County community of 1,038 residents.

The firetruck holds only three firefighters. The rest have to answer fire calls in their own vehicles.

When it was announced Wednesday that the department would receive a federal grant of $184,500 to be used to purchase a new pump truck, firefighters became "ecstatic."

"You don't know what it means for these men who put their lives on the line every day," said Chief Mike Wicker. "The equipment we have is adequate, but it is slowly becoming inadequate. Only one truck for our city – that's how vital this money is. There's no way we could afford a new fully equipped truck without this grant.

"Our need is so great now. A new high school is being built and 600 kids are in school on any given day, not to mention the propane plant, the bulk fertilizer store and several other exposures."

The majority of the department's annual budget goes to paying for the fire station, insurance, utilities, fuel, training and maintenance, with about $3,500 left over to buy vehicles and equipment for the 17 volunteer firefighters.

As is the practice with nearly all volunteer fire departments, La Center has mutual aid agreements with the La Center Rural, Kevil, Barlow and Wickliffe departments, Wicker said. A La Center Rural truck responds as backup to each city fire because the city department has only one truck. However, there have been a few instances when both departments have had fires at the same time.

The La Center Rural Fire Department has a separate protection district from the city department.

The grant was issued through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Firefighter Assistance Program, which allocates funding so local fire departments can purchase vehicles, including pumpers, brush trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, ambulances, foam units and fire boats.

Announcement of the grant was made Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning and 1st District U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield. The program will award more than $750 million in grants nationwide this year.

A few years ago, the La Center City Commission started saving for a new truck. The city already has received bids and may get the truck as early as December or as late as August, Wicker said.

Originally published in The Paducah Sun. Reprinted with permission.

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