Excerpts from theSouthern.com:
The Byron Fire Protection District board gifted a 1995 truck from it’s dive response team to the Vergennes Fire Department.It was a five-hour drive for Byron Fire Protection District board member Jeff Bain to deliver the truck. Bain said the Byron Fire Protection District has a budget in the millions, thanks in large part to a nuclear power plant within their taxing district.
The budget for the all-volunteer fire department in Vergennes is only about $8,000, said Trish Sherman, who is a volunteer firefighter and EMS provider, as well as the office manager for the Village of Vergennes. She said this will be the newest truck the village owns. Other vehicles they own date back to the 1970s and 1980s. Without the generous donation of Byron’s fire district, Vergennes would not have been able to afford this truck.
Vergennes is a Jackson County community of about 300 people, about 20 miles north of Carbondale. The fire department serves the village and the surrounding areas, covering fire and emergency calls for about a 300-square-mile radius. They are often the first on the scene for medical calls and are trained to begin care while awaiting the arrival of Jackson County Ambulance paramedics, which may have farther to travel.
The Vergennes Fire Department will use its newly acquired truck as a medical response vehicle. It will also be equipped with extrication equipment. Presently, when Vergennes responds to a car accident, it requires taking both a medical unit and a fire truck with extrication equipment. But that presents a challenge if only one volunteer is available to respond immediately, as that person obviously can’t drive both vehicles.
The new unit gives the department even greater flexibility because it is air conditioned. It can be used at the scene of fires and other incidents as a place where firefighters can cool down.
The two fire departments were connected through Amboy-based Dinges Fire Company owner Nick Dinges. Amboy sells equipment to fire departments, but often helps broker exchanges between departments that have and those that need.
There are 10 volunteer firefighters serving Vergennes, and the village is always looking for more, said Matt Hardwig, assistant fire chief for the village. Hardwig, who has served with the department for 21 years, said he’s grateful for the donation and said the truck with undoubtedly be put to good use.
