|
For the third consecutive year, El Malpais National Monument assisted three of Cibola County's Volunteer Fire Departments in purchasing fire-fighting equipment. The monument submitted three requests through the Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) grant program and was awarded all three requests. The RFA grant is available through the National Park Service, Department of the Interior and is designed to help fire departments purchase needed equipment to battle wildland fires and assist federal agencies with wildland urban interface fires. The grant program has been in existence since the fire season of 2000.
The three volunteer fire departments that received equipment this year were Candy Kitchen VFD, El Morro Ranches VFD, and San Rafael VFD. A total of $12,000 was dispersed among the three departments to buy wildland firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment.
"During the past three years, the monument has been able to supply all three fire departments a 200-gallon slip-on pump unit, nomex clothing, hard hats, gloves, goggles, fire hose, nozzles, and fire line backpacks" said Michael Kessler, the Prescribed Fire Specialist for the monument. Kessler has coordinated the RFA program for the past three years. The Fire Management Officer for the monument, David Langley said "The RFA program has been a huge success for the monument and the fire departments because of the fire department's limited budgets". The Fire Chiefs for Candy Kitchen VFD, El Morro Ranches VFD, and San Rafael VFD were all in agreement about how much the RFA grant program has helped them. Chief John Guin of Candy Kitchen VFD said "RFA grants have helped immensely, and it would have taken five or more years for us to acquire the equipment that has been purchased for wildland fire fighting".
The monument has also benefited from the manpower and equipment supplied by volunteer fire departments during wildland fires and prescribed burning. In 2001, during the monument's 12,000 acre Cherry Fire, the fire departments participated in the Structure Protection Group of the Incident Management Team. The fire departments have also provided personnel and water tenders during prescribed burns conducted on the monument. "It's a win-win proposal for the fire departments and the monument" said John Lujan, the monument's Superintendent. "The RFA grant is working just as it is supposed to by the monument helping the fire departments and the fire departments helping the monument" said Lujan.
The Fire Management staff at El Malpais National Monument is very proud of the way the RFA program has been able to help rural fire departments. The monument remains involved in the Cibola County Fire Chiefs Association and the Cibola County Emergency Management Office and is committed to this exemplary Interagency arrangement.
|
