BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
The Starke Fire Department recently added to its inventory of rescue equipment, thanks to a grant in the amount of approximately $33,000 from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
This is the third Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant the Starke Fire Department has received in the last 8-10 years. The three grants totaled approximately $100,000.
“We can’t thank Firehouse Subs enough,” Starke Fire Chief Gary Wise said.
This latest grant allowed the department to purchase, through MES (Municipal Emergency Services) Fire, three Hurst Jaws of Life eDraulic battery powered devices — a cutter, a spreader and a ram — six batteries and three battery chargers. The Jaws of Life devices are waterproof. Wise said they can operate in up to 11 feet of freshwater.
The Starke Fire Department now has two each of the Hurst eDraulic cutters, spreaders and rams, which will be of benefit inside and outside the city limits as the department responds to calls throughout the county.
“It’s benefitting the city of Starke, but it’s also benefitting everybody in Bradford County,” Wise said.
Wise said Bradford County Fire Rescue had applied for a Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant as well. He believes the county department has a good chance of receiving it.
“It’s not that they don’t look out for bigger departments,” Wise said of the Firehouse Subs foundation, “but it really seems like they look out for the smaller departments and the financial burdens those smaller departments have in order to get equipment. It’s expensive equipment.”
Firehouse Subs founders Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen traveled to Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, feeding first responders as well as survivors. That led to the idea of creating the nonprofit Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, which exists to provide resources to first responders so that they are better equipped to save lives.
The latest figures on the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation website show that the foundation has awarded 5,531 grants totaling more than $65 million since 2005.
One of the ways in which money is raised for the foundation is through Firehouse Subs customers rounding up the totals of their purchases to the nearest dollar.
“I try to tell everybody, if they go to Firehouse, make sure they round up and support (the program),” Wise said.
The Starke Fire Department, since it was just awarded a grant, can apply again in two years.
Kevin Mock, a sales representative with MES Fire, was in Starke to inspect the new equipment, ensuring it wasn’t damaged in shipping or during the manufacturing process.
“Somebody’s life could depend on it,” Mock said.
If you’d like to know about Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, please visit firehousesubsfoundation.org.
