Upper Township Volunteer Fire Department has received a 1984 AM General, all-wheel drive, five-ton cargo truck with an original acquisition of more than $70,000.

Sunday, August 19, 2001

Upper Township Volunteer Fire Department has received a 1984 AM General, all-wheel drive, five-ton cargo truck with an original acquisition of more than $70,000.

The vehicle is being made available by the U.S. Forest Service’s Federal Excess Personal Property program, which provides vehicles and other fire fighting equipment to rural fire departments at no charge. The program is administered in Ohio by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Of the nearly 1,300 fire departments within Ohio, some 900 are classified as rural and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The average budget for an Ohio rural fire department is $24,000 per year, with many fire departments operating on $5,000 or less annually.

The Division of Forestry currently has cooperative wildfire suppression agreements with 325 fire departments within this fire protection area.

Since July 1996, more than $4 million worth of equipment has been acquired and loaned to local fire departments by the ODNR Division of Forestry.

Fire departments interested in additional information or in participating in the program need to complete a Federal Excess Property Request Form available at their local state forest office or by contacting Rick Maier, FEPP program coordinator, ODNR Division of Forestry, 345 Allen Ave., Chillicothe, 45601 or by phone at (740) 773-1547.