FAIC was recently awarded a grant for 15 sets of structure gear, 15 sets of dual certi wildland/extrication gear, helmets, nomex hoods, boots (structure and wildland) and gloves for a total of $82,485 from the Oklahoma Department of Forestry and Agriculture.

Chief Shawn Moore stated, “We are thrilled that every single one of our firefighters will get brand new gear! Our gear that we wear only has a 10-year lifespan protection. This will be the first time in our history that every single firefighter will have in date National Fire Protection Association compliant gear. That means all our gear that we will be receiving over the upcoming months will all be in compliance with all regulations and will be in date.”

Over the past few years the volunteer fire department has done their best to purchase gear that was in date through fundraising and other grants. So receiving this grant will take a huge burden off their shoulders.

“We have been very fortunate for the help from those grants and our community!”

However, this grant opportunity will significantly help the FAIC Fire Department financially and will also open training opportunities for volunteer firefighters to attend.

“We want to give a huge shoutout to our FAIC Board of Directors for supporting and understanding the needs of our department along with exploring options to help our department grow in a positive way.

“We want to thank our Oklahoma Rural Fire Defense Coordinator Ed Barton for going above and beyond to help our rural fire departments in his area and always willing to answer the phone at any hour to assist with needs.

“FAIC also wanted to thank Tyler Lee with NAFECO for helping us get our department sized a few weeks ago and working with everyone’s schedules.

“Special thanks to Rep. Tim Turner for lobbying for our rural departments and his willingness to answer questions or find out information to assist our local agencies. Thank you for your dedication to Oklahoma House District 15 sir.

“Last but most certainly not least, we want to thank our community for not giving up on us and continuing to support our small department. Without you all and the local government we would not be able to do what we do!” Moore said.