Beulah VFD acquires new truck to be used in fighting brush fires

The Beulah Volunteer Fire Department recently took delivery of a 2008 Ford F-550 truck to use in fighting brush fires. The $60,000 truck was purchased with a federal grant and funds provided by the department.

The Beulah Volunteer Fire Department took delivery of a 2008 Ford F- 550 truck to use in fighting brush fires Friday, October 5.

The truck was purchased with $58,000 in grant monies from the United States Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP), supplemented by $3,000 from the volunteer fire department.

The primary goal of the AFGP is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical services organizations.

Purchased from Fouts Brothers Fire Equipment in Smyrna, the new truck features a 6.8 L V-10 engine; a 12,000-pound wench; a stainless steel brush guard; a foam system, which serves to double or even triple water capacity; a pump with a 400- gallon tank and a five-gallon foam cell; a 1.5-inch hose connection on the front bumper; a booster reel; and tool boxes.

"It was to the point where we couldn't get parts for our old brush truck. We had to quit using it because it was falling apart - it wasn't road worthy," stated Wade Johnson, who wrote the grant for Beulah. "The new truck will give the department a sense of pride and help us to better serve and protect the property and residents of Lincoln and Wilkes counties."

On behalf of the VFD, Johnson thanked Ricky Lindsey of Washington Ford-Mercury, Inc. for allowing the sale of the truck to go through the dealership at no charge.

The old brush truck, a 1973 Ford F-700, will be returned to the Georgia Forestry Commission, which loaned the truck to Beulah several years ago.

Located on Highway 79, where Lincoln, Wilkes, and Elbert counties intersect, Beulah VFD backs up fire departments in all three counties.

"One of our goals is to lower our ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating from a nine to an eight," Johnson continued. "But it will take a major effort on the part of all of the fire departments in the area to accomplish this goal."

Established in the late 1960s, Beulah VFD was originally known at the Rhodes Store Rural Fire Defense Unit. It was located in a barn in Wilkes County owned by Albert Rhodes. In 1970, Champion Timber Company gave the department an old house at the intersection of Highway 79 and Delhi Road; the firemen tore the house down and constructed a fire station on the site. Then, in 1991, the group built its current station in Lincoln County on land donated by Rhodes. The "new" station boasts four bays, a kitchen, and restroom facilities.

Past fire chiefs include James Harper, Ed Rhodes, Ronnie Harper, Glenn Echols, and William Johnson. Robert Cordell is presently serving as chief.

In addition to Cordell and Johnson, the members of the Beulah VFD are Jimmy Harper, assistant chief; William Johnson, training officer; Gwyn Roberson; Ed Rhodes; Chris Edmonds; John Kennedy; James Harper; O'Neal Adams, chairman of the board of trustees; William Rhodes; Willie Stokes; Bo Rhodes; Jessie Shoemaker; David Shoemaker; and Cody Beggs.

The department is supported by various fund-raising events as well as SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) monies from Lincoln and Wilkes counties.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Fire Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Since 2001, the grant program has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.