KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The volunteer firefighters at Hickerson Station Fire Department have received new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) to help fight future fires.

According to Hickerson Station’s Assistant Fire Chief Paul McCown, over the past couple of years the volunteer fire station has been actively securing the funding for their outdated SCBA’s, which have been service since 2003.

“We decided to apply for FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters grant back in January of 2021, with the help of a local grant writer,” McCown said. “With this grant, FEMA would pay 95% of the cost towards new SCBA’s and the other 5% would be purchased with funds from our fire department.”

Later in December the department learned they were not selected for the grant. They made the decision to re-apply for the grant in January 2022 and were notified that they were selected in March 2023. With the grant, Hickerson Station VFD were approved to purchase 20 new air packs with FEMA’s portion, totaling just over $153,000.

“We are incredibly blessed and excited to begin training with these new SCBA’s and putting them into service within the next couple of weeks,” McCown said. “With this new equipment, we can ensure the safety of our men and women who volunteer their time and energy to keep the members of our community safe.”

Hickerson Station VFD is located at 4373 Old Manchester Hwy and can be contacted by calling 931-455-0058 or emailing hickersonstationvfd@yahoo.com.