Geared Up: Operation Round Up Grant Funds New Rack for Florala Fire Department

Along one wall of its apparatus bay, the Florala Fire Department uses a bright red rack to store the turnout gear worn by firefighters, including helmets, coats, pants, gloves, and boots.

The gear rack may not carry the importance of the protective equipment stored in its individual compartments, but Florala Fire Chief Anthony Jones says the department needed the rack for some time. The volunteer fire department just couldn’t afford it until a grant from Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation made it possible.

“This helps us keep all the gear separated from each other,” Jones says. “It helps ventilate it because whenever they come back from a fire, it may be wet. It just helps out with organization, also, and gets it off the ground.”

The $7,267 grant covers the entire cost of the gear rack.

The Florala Fire Department, which has 25 firefighters on its roster, serves the 2,000 residents of Florala in Covington County and provides mutual aid to nearby Lockhart. The department’s coverage area is 81 square miles.

Previously, the fire department used an older rack for gear storage, but it did not provide the ventilation to help dry equipment, nor the organization for quicker turnout when a call comes in. Newer gear racks also cut down on cross-contamination between firefighter gear sets from smoke, soot, and other potential contaminants during calls.

The new gear rack meets standards set by the National Fire Protection Association, which Jones says helps the department and the city with the Insurance Services Office rating used to determine insurance costs for local residents.

Jones says the department is fortunate to receive money from property taxes, as well as from the city government, but that funding is prioritized for fire trucks, safety gear, and other specialized equipment.

“We don’t have a big budget, so we rely on Wiregrass Electric and other grant people to help us get things that we can’t purchase,” Jones says.

Members who voluntarily round up their monthly electric bills make the Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation possible. A board made up of cooperative members oversees the foundation, which funds community grants and scholarships for local students.

“It boils down to our membership, who allows us to round up their bills each month to the nearest dollar, that makes these funds available that we can then put back into the community,” WEC Vice President of Member Services and Communication Stevie Sauls says. “We’re so thankful to be able to do that.”