Phillips County Rural Fire receives BNSF grant for $25k

The Phillips County Rural Fire Department received a $25,000 grant from the BNSF Railway Foundation on Wednesday afternoon in Malta, money which Rural Fire Chief Mike Flatt said will be used to purchase a pump for the initial attack vehicle.

Matt Jones, Regional Director of Public Affairs from BNSF Railway presented the check to Flatt on behalf of the BNSF Railway Foundation. The Foundation's stated mission is to support organizations that improve the quality of life of communities across the 28 states through which BNSF operates, and where BNSF employees live, work and volunteer.

"Clearly, the rural fire departments along our routes and in the communities we serve offer critical services," Jones said.

Since 2009, the BNSF Foundation is given out nearly $2.5 million in grants in the state of Montana. Jones made his way to Malta after presenting a grant to the Glasgow Fire Department which they will use to upgrade their communications equipment.

"We appreciate all the work that first responders do in the communities on our system," Jones said. "Safety is our highest priority. They are an important part of the work we do."

Last October, The Phillips County Rural Fire Department used a $50,000 donation by Cenex Harvest States, parent company of Milk River Cooperatives, to purchase the GMC diesel rescue-recovery truck. The four-wheel drive truck features a winch system on both the front and back of the vehicle. It was originally used as a demonstration model by its former owner, Emic Bjornsson of Ferndale, WA., to demonstrate the winch systems to the Military.

"He had people who were to give him more money," Flatt said. "But he liked the idea of giving it to a fire department and that worked out well for us."

The new pump will allow the initial attack truck to get into locations that other vehicles on the fire department's fleet might not be able to, according to Flatt.

"This pump system is something new for us," he said. "It runs with compressed air and mixes with the water and the foam. It will make the water (last) five to eight times longer."

Flatt said that the pump for the initial attack truck costs around $53,000.

"This is going to be a big help," Flatt said of the BNSF grant.