CREATIVE FUNDING FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT`S DREAM PROJECT
BY J.A. PLUMLEE
Do you have some project or goal that is not being accomplished because there are not enough funds to go around? Is there some dream that would put your fire department on the map and give it the professional recognition it deserves in your community?
Our dream and goal was to have some type of drill field for our 51-member career department, located in a 22-square-mile city with a population of 35,600 and three fire stations. The nearest drill field was 14.8 miles away, and the only way to get training at that field was to take an engine company out of service, which was not feasible from a budgetary standpoint. Moreover, the quality of service to our citizens would have suffered.
I am from the old school that thinks that taxation should fund the different services a city provides. But times have changed, and city departments are having trouble maintaining current levels of service. In some cases, services have to be reduced. How do we get around this problem?
One way is to consider the fire service as a business and look at what we have to market. This concept may not be fully acceptable to some. Although they might go along with a volunteer department`s raising funds by sponsoring a fish fry or a pancake supper, raising money by charging for the services we perform may be the farthest thing from their mind.
However, the fire service appears to be nearing a transition in this area. A recent survey conducted among 50 area chiefs in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, Metroplex area asked the question, “Would you charge for a particular service if you were allowed to?” Of the 29 chiefs who responded, half said they would and the other half said they wouldn`t. It appears that the fire service may be attaching a price tag to some of its services in the not-too-distant future. Not all will favor this type of change. But for many departments, it is the only way to realize that special project, meet that public education goal, or buy that mobile public education house or other equipment they need to do their job or maintain their professionalism.
THE CITY OF DESOTO (TX) FIRE RESCUE RECRUIT SCHOOL
Our department`s goal and dream was to develop a drill field for our career department. We raised funds to realize our goal by establishing and running the City of DeSoto Fire Rescue Fire Academy recruit school, which certifies civilians as firefighters in the state of Texas. Texas currently re-quires that recruit firefighters have 458 hours of training in 31 subjects. Many cities in our area are hiring the certifiable trainees from our school at great savings to that city. (They do not have to do the training except for a small orientation class.)
The City of DeSoto allowed the department`s training division to set up a fund so that profits realized from the recruit school could be kept in a special fund, which rolled over from year to year. In this way, we were able to save for larger projects on the drill field.
The school grosses more than $100,000 a year; about 31 percent of that is profit.
ADDITIONAL TYPES OF ASSISTANCE
The amazing thing we have found is that if you will let people know what you are doing, they will help you.
Can you believe that we could build a three-story drill tower for $5,000? Is it fancy? No. Is it serviceable? Yes. The local utility company donated six 40-foot poles. We spent $1,000 to dig and set the poles. Those expert carpenters in our department put in three separate floors using those poles as their columns. Now, we have a place to practice ladder and rope work.
A concrete pipe company, once we made it aware of our needs, donated what we needed at no cost. So the goal of having a confined space rescue project was born. Sometimes your dreams get changed. The donated pipe we thought would be small pipes that could be set underground turned out to be three large pipes weighing 12,000 pounds apiece. Nothing in the city could move those chunks of concrete. But we were assisted by a contractor doing business with the city. The contractor moved and set those pipes aboveground with its heavy equipment. We erected a platform around the pipe for a cost of $1,500.
A frozen food trucking company donated a trailer. All it cost us was about $1,300 to replace the roof. We purchased lumber to make a maze inside this trailer, and now the department has a first-class SCBA trailer.
We developed six evolutions, and we plan to have aggressive competition when completing an evolution that is above our minimum standard.
While all these things were in progress, a few industrious firefighters were working on other projects: a sprinkler head simulator, a small extinguisher pit, and a door to further forcible entry training.
An old pump taken out of an engine going to auction now makes a good model for pump classes.
The most recent addition has been a propane tree, which we call the “burning bush.” One of our firefighters provided the services of his trenching machine, and another welded the tree together. The propane company leased us the tank for $1 a year; the ongoing cost is the fuel.
Also, there is a ventilation roof with an easy slide-in plywood panel, constructed by our firefighters at a cost of less than $1,000.
FUTURE PLANS
What is in the future? Well, that same concrete pipe company is donating a 16,000-pound concrete vault, which will be set in a hole in the ground and used to simulate a trench rescue. Trench rescue must be taught with technique, not danger, in mind.
More fire hydrants are needed for the field. We recently acquired two from the Water Department, which had replaced other hydrants in the city. Crushed concrete has been spread where concrete pads have not been poured. This works better than gravel in our black Texas dirt, and it is cheaper. The Parks Department is remodeling one of the city`s parks and will be giving our department some lighting, which we will install.
A flashover chamber or propane-fed pit would be nice. A drafting pit is needed to test engines. This department responds to its share of car fires, and it would not be hard to add a little piping to our propane tank for this project. As you can see, these goals are attainable. Although DeSoto Fire Rescue has been able to build an adequate facility, it still took money to proceed with the dreams.
ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Your department will have to decide whether your members want to add entrepreneurship to their other functions. Many firefighters in our department run businesses worth more than our department`s fiscal budget. These firefighter/entrepreneurs were very helpful in our recruit school project. Their suggestions pertaining to changes in the running of the school increased our profit margin from 15 percent to 31 percent.
Many small and large ventures can produce money for the fire service. Many of the professional things we do are marketable. All it takes is some research. I have compiled a list of some of the activities a career or volunteer fire department can pursue to raise funds for its dream projects.
Recruit schools. Many learning experiences have led to the evolution of our school to its present level of performance. In addition to income derived from the $1,700 tuition for a 16-week school, we lease protective clothing to those who do not have access to it and we sell books, T-shirts, and caps (just like a college campus). Also, we create and sell a videotape of the students` participation in the school. Everything we touch makes a profit. In return, we are obligated to turn out the highest caliber of students possible. Many of our students have been hired all across Texas. Other departments are coming to recruit our students. It sounds like a win/win situation.
Specialized training. A department could establish a training school for a specialized area. As an example, it could construct a trench rescue drill field project and become the trench rescue guru for its area.
Guest speakers can also be brought in.
Unlock house or unlock car fees. During our maturing and growing as a department, we unlocked cars in our city. During one of the last years we provided this service, we unlocked 720 cars. You put the price tag on that.
Unnecessary fire alarm activations, fire inspection, or permit fees. Many of you are already doing this type of assessing.
Fire service inventions. Has your department made or invented a tool that could be marketed to other departments? Someone will eventually think of the idea, and you are going to pay the price.
CPR classes. Doctors and nurses are mandated to take these classes. Big businesses sometimes like their employees to have this type of training. Day care center workers are required to have this type of training along with a little first aid. Is there a market for such classes in your town?
EMS transports. Our city currently runs emergency services and has not been challenged by private industry. The paying EMS service is transporting. That is the reason we have not been challenged. What if the city took over the transport business and allowed private industry to bid on a city contract as the reserve backup when the city is depleted of ambulances? They pay us for being number two.
Extinguisher recharging. There are many extinguishers in your town that need recharging every year. Private industry makes a good living doing this simply because no one else is doing it. What is dearer to our heart in the fire service than a good extinguisher?
Rent wet vacuums. Our department quit doing evacuation of unclean water such as toilet overflows and sewer backups. Clean water pickup is the only situation we address. Leasing wet vacuums to the public could be a moneymaker.
Grants. This is a work-intensive process, but it can be rewarding. A dedicated grant writer will look at fire service grants, which are very few. That person should have a vision of the big picture that says one has to match what we are doing with business grants outside the fire service.
Donations. I affectionately call this method of raising funds “begging.” It simply involves letting people know what is going on and determining if they want to be part of the process. Many businesses have money set aside to be put back into the community. It may have your department`s name on it.
Lease space. Would you ever build a fire station with lease office space incorporated into the structure? Do you think in the long term that leasing space could pay for that station?
Always look to the business community for ideas. Incorporate them into your planning sessions. They may give you everything you need. If not, do it the old-fashioned business way, earn it. You can see how this approach has enabled us to develop our drill field, and very economically. Consider what you see happening in the fire service, dream those dreams, and make them happen.
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The City of DeSoto (TX) Fire Rescue Recruit School drill field includes the following training stations: (1) three-story drill tower, (2) SCBA trailer, (3) confined-space simulator, (4) sprinkler project, (5) propane tree, (6) ventilation roof simulator, and (7) fire extinguisher pit. (Photos by author.)
J. A. PLUMLEE is assistant chief of operations and a 22-year veteran of the DeSoto (TX) Fire Department. He began his fire service career in a small department in Coppell, Texas, where he served as a volunteer for 10 years and a career firefighter for two. An instructor in the fire technology program in the Dallas County Community College system, he has a bachelor of science degree from Dallas Baptist University and an associate`s degree in fire technology from Tarrant County Junior College and has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy.
