West Central Initiative awards $20,000 to small town fire departments

FERGUS FALLS (KDLM) – More than $20,000 has been awarded to small town fire departments across the Lakes Area by West Central Initiative.

Twenty, local fire departments received $1,000 grants from The Funders Network.

“We received a grant from The Funders Network for emergency preparedness activities,” said West Central Initiative’s Director of Development, Rebecca Lynn Petersen. “We’re choosing to distribute the funds to the fire departments that serve our smallest communities. We’re thrilled to help others help others.”

Grant Recipients include

• Bluffton Fire Department
• Callaway Fire Department
• Campbell Fire Department
• Carsonville Fire Department
• Dalton Fire Department
• Dent Fire Department
• Dumont Fire Department
• Elizabeth Fire Department
• Felton Fire Department
• Forada Fire Department
• Foxhome Fire Department
• Hitterdal Fire Department
• Millervile Fire Department
• Ogema Fire Department
• Sedan Fire Department
• Tintah Fire Department
• Vining Fire Department
• Wendell Fire Department
• Wolflake Fire Department
• Wolverton Fire Department

The COVID-19 pandemic affected funding opportunities for fire departments nationally because emergency management teams had to focus their resources on pandemic response. Fire departments also saw an increase in expenses due to the increased use of personal protective equipment and inflation.

“The top needs in our area are personnel, equipment funding, and training,” said Dave Coufal, Fire Chief of the Lake Park Fire Department and President of the Northwest Region of the Minnesota State Fire Departments Association. “Recruiting new members is one of the biggest challenges that we face as rural, paid, on-call, and volunteer departments. The baby boomers are retiring, and many departments are seeing a decrease in applications.”

You can support your local fire department in a variety of ways. “Whether it’s a simple thank you, a plate of cookies, or a donation to the equipment fund, supporting your fire department is one of the most important things any community can do,” said Coufal.

West Central Initiative (WCI) is a regional community foundation and an economic development organization serving the nine west central Minnesota counties of Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin and a portion of White Earth Nation.