Published: September 02, 2008 11:43 am         

Volunteer fire departments must raise own funds

Protecting the lives and property of a community is not an easy job.

Besides supplying manpower to fight fires and help with medical emergencies, volunteer fire departments must also pay expenses which include fuel, equipment, vehicle maintenance and insurance.

Cooke County’s volunteer fire departments get funding from a number of sources.

The county is one source.

County Judge Bill Freeman said the commissioner’s court recently raised the amount it provides its 11 volunteer fire departments from $6,500 to $7,500.

“This money is to help offset costs such as the price of fuel,” he said. “We can also help with matching grants.”

However, fire departments must hold fund raising events.

“Most of the fire departments’ funding comes from the communities,” Freeman noted.

Karen Graham of the Era Volunteer Fire Department said fund raisers are a large part of the operating budget of small volunteer fire departments.

“We get funding from the county. We get FEMA grants and help from the Texas Forest Service and we get (a grant) from the Cooke County Co-op,” she said. “But if it weren’t for some of our donors, we wouldn’t be able to operate.”

The CoServe Charitable Foundation gave the department $25,000 to help defray the cost of outfitting a new truck. The department and many others in the county have also received grants from other sources.

Most departments hold annual fund raising barbecues with auctions.

Graham said the members of the fire department are grateful for the help they get from the community.

“We’re very fortunate that the Era community realizes the importance of keeping the volunteer fire department going,” she said.

In addition to $7,500 from the county, volunteer fire departments in some incorporated towns also receive city funding for their departments.

Callisburg, Muenster, Valley View, Oak Ridge and Lindsay all provide assistance to their volunteer fire departments.

“There is varying degrees of assistance. Some help with insurance, some help with fuel, some pay for (expenses related to) fire stations,” said Cooke County Emergency Management Coordinator Ray Fletcher.

Grants are another major factor in the survival of volunteer fire departments.

Fletcher said each year the county sets aside $10,000 in a grant match line item.

“If the departments get grants for equipment, the county can help them pay the match they might incur,” he said. “I set aside $1,000 for each department.”

Any money that is left is divided again among the departments to make up any grant matching shortfalls.

The split between a grant from an outside agency and the amount required to match the grant is usually 90/10 or 75/25, he said.

But grants are not a sure thing.

“Some grants are huge, but grants are not a steady stream and you cannot budget for them,” he said.

Also included in county funding is a $500 grant to each department for pager repair.

Not all county assistance has a specific dollar value.

“The county provides 24-hour answering and dispatch for all departments,” he said.

In addition, volunteer firefighters use the county’s radio infrastructure, he said.

Still, Fletcher admitted county contributions are only part of VFD budgets.

“The departments take care of a lot of their own financial requirements,” Fletcher said.