Rural Fire District No. 1 authorized to accept $35,000 in foundation grants for wildland UTV

Saline County commissioners on June 10 approved Rural Fire District No. 1’s acceptance of three foundation grants totaling $35,000 to help purchase a utility terrain vehicle for wildland fire suppression and remote rescues.

Wade Waddle, assistant fire chief for Rural Fire District No. 1, told commissioners the district submitted grant requests to multiple foundations and has received awards from the Dane Hansen Foundation ($15,000), TC Energy ($15,000) and the Earl Bain Foundation ($5,000). The district seeks to build a 6x6 UTV equipped for wildland suppression and to carry a downed firefighter and an AED med kit; total expected project cost is about $53,000, and Waddle said additional awards and donation account funds are expected to close the gap.

Waddle said funds for the vehicle will not come from the district’s general or special equipment funds; instead, the grants and donations will fund the purchase. He said he has two vendors under consideration and expects the vehicle to carry a 60–70 gallon water tank plus rescue and medical equipment. Commissioners praised the grant-seeking effort; a motion to approve RFA 20 25-81 passed on a voice vote.

Waddle noted that some federal or forestry grants had not yet responded and that additional private donors may help reach the estimated total. He also said some district apparatus are old and that a smaller, off-road-capable UTV would allow the district to operate on interstate and multi-county wildland responses without sending older frontline trucks on long hauls.