Wildcat community asks Pickens County to help match funds, expand station for brush truck

Leaders of the Wildcat community told Pickens County commissioners they have raised $130,000 toward purchasing a brush truck and asked the county to provide a matching contribution and to expand a station bay so the vehicle can be stored indoors.

Clayton Prebble, identified in the meeting as representing the Wildcat community, described a multi-community voluntary firefighting and mitigation effort covering areas of the mountain. He said the community has raised funds from neighborhood drives and local appeals and that the group originally sought a $100,000 match from the county; he told commissioners the community has exceeded that goal and now has $130,000.

Prebble described the technical needs for a vehicle the community and fire chief had discussed: a rapid-response brush truck with at least a 300-gallon water capacity, a pump in the range of 500 gallons per minute (GPM) to act as a pumper and relay, and a four-wheel-drive chassis suitable for steep, narrow private roads. He said the vehicle would serve as both a rapid-response unit and a water relay to reach fires on steep mountain roads where larger engines cannot safely maneuver.

Prebble asked the county to help by matching funds, by identifying an appropriate vehicle (new or reliable used), and by funding or approving an expansion to the local station to house the apparatus. County staff said they would work to obtain cost estimates for the building expansion and coordinate with the finance department on possible contingency or transfer options; commissioners indicated they were supportive in principle and expected a more detailed funding request at the board's next regular meeting.

Speakers at the presentation noted the community has supplied volunteers who serve as medical and firefighting responders and emphasized the urgency of moving quickly to collect pledged donations while market conditions remain stable.