Leaders of the Fallsburg Volunteer Fire Department recently applied for and received two grants to upgrade and replace old equipment.
Fire Chief Chris Jobe reports that they received a grant through the Kentucky Fire Commission for $3200.00 for a new Thermal Imaging camera. The one they replaced was bulky and hard to use and has been used since 2005 when they bought it. It took 2 hands and the pictures weren’t good quality, Jobe said. The new one is a Flir brand handheld camera, can be used with one hand. It is more manageable with a much better 
quality of picture. This will help spot fires that are not detected by the old one. This Flir camera will also provide sharper images and the truest temperatures. The brand says it is a result of 5 decades of infrared expertise.
The second grant was through the Division of Forestry and was a 50/50 reimbursement grant that was applied for. The application became available in March and was awarded to FVFD. The amount was a range of $1,000 to $5,000 and a list was provided of equipment that was approved under the grant. Chief Jobe announced that the equipment had to be purchased by the department and then 50% of the cost was reimbursed.
They purchased 3 handheld portable radios as some that they had were beyond repair or burnt during the
use while fighting fires. They also bought a portable water pump because of the lack of water sources in rural areas. This will allow them to utilize ponds, creeks or any other natural source which will help them in many of their calls where hydrants aren’t available. Fire Prevention material and teaching aides were also purchased for teaching school kids. The department uses this material to hand out to the school age kids to help them learn how to exit a fire or fire prevention.
“We are very thankful for both grants due limited funding. The equipment purchased will allow our department to be more up to date and our men and women to be more efficient in fighting fires in our community, Jobe said. “We want people to feel safe and protected in this manner. A house fire is devastating and prevention is the key, however when it becomes a reality we want to be successful in preventing as much loss as possible.”
