The Wellston Fire Department has received new equipment and certification to help the department be more prepared to respond to wild and structure fires, along with medical emergencies.
Chief Todd Beesley said they recently received a slip-on grant through the Department of Interior that provided two skid units. These are platforms that are mounted on the back of flatbed trucks outfitted with tanks, hose, and pumps.
The units are worth roughly $36,000 and there was no matching money required, Beesley said. One of the units was mounted onto a truck the department already had, replacing a unit that was around 25 to 30 years old. The other was mounted onto a cabin chassis that was purchased with funds donated by former Wellston firefighter Thomas Tillison. The department and the town split the cost to buy the new bed for the truck and a replacement bumper, according to the chief.
He said the Oklahoma City Fire Department donated a 2013 F550 Grass Rig that only needs a radio and graphics for it to be operational. This truck will will also carry medical equipment and be used to respond to medical calls. The department also recently received its emergency medical responder agency certification from the state.
As a fun aside, the numbers assigned to the Wellston Fire Department are the same as those used on the TV show “Emergency.”
“AsanodtotheTVshow and that it’s our medical truck, we named that truck Squad 51,” he said. “And the guy that did our graphics, which is one of my firefighters, the 51 logo on the truck looks like the one off the TV show truck.”
In addition to that, the Kickapoo Tribal Police also donated a 2019 Ford Explorer and The Big Four Fire Department also donated an F250 pick-up. Beesley said the two will beusedmostlyascommand vehicles.
“We have some additional tools and things on that truck that they’re able to respond to that scene and that gives the incident commanderanopportunity, hopefully to be able to do a good scene size up, structure fire, do a 360, and you can advise the incoming crews where they need to go, what they need to do,” he said.
The overall goal of the new equipment is to hopefully encourage more people to volunteer at the department, and mostly to improve response times and the ISO rating.
Along with roughly 81 percent of fire departments in Oklahoma, Wellston is fully volunteer. Beesley posted on social media March 12 that the department is seeking more volunteers.
“Hopefully, people will see that we’re trying to do good things for the town and it will encourage people to maybe think about volunteering,” he said.
Additionally, improving response times and ultimately the ISO rating will have a positive effect on everyone in Wellston. It stands for the Insurance Service Office, which rates fire departments on training, equipment, and the ability to fight structure fires. It’s also what insurance companies look at to determine homeowners insurance. Beesley said a good rating could help lower homeowners insurance.
At the heart of everything for the chief, it’s about the community.
“I feel like I’m fortunate that I have a very good team of guys, even though we’re short-handed, the guys that I got are awesome, they’re dedicated, and that’s what this community needs to know is that these guys,” he said. “There’s no pay involved, and nobody personally benefits from anything doing this, it’s for our community.”