Iola received word this week it has received a $350,000 grant to go toward the purchase of a new fire engine.
The federal grant comes through the Kansas Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program. Thrive Allen County applied for the grant on the city’s behalf.
A new fire engine is estimated to cost $700,000, according to Jon Wells, mayor of Iola.
Wells said it is replacing Engine 311, a vehicle that “has plagued the Iola Fire Department with problems for years. Since being added to the fleet in 2010, the truck has been in the repair shop no less than 40 times and has been out of commission for 330 days, violating performance requirements.
“The truck nearly died while driving to a structure fire, and engine surges caused wildly fluctuating water pressure. These failures created an unacceptable risk to our community and to the firefighters who risk their lives for the public’s safety,” Wells added.
For the past three years the city has unsuccessfully applied for various other grants. This was the first attempt to use the CDBG process for a fire truck, he said.
“Our community deserves to feel safe and be able to place full trust in their fire and rescue professionals, knowing that reliable and trustworthy help is just a phone call away,” he said.
Wells expressed his appreciation for Thrive’s help, adding it did so at no cost to the city.
The city has also appointed Thrive as administration of the grant over the next two years and will report to the Kansas Department of Commerce on how the grant funds are expended.
