Mid-County Fire Protection District receiving ARPA funds for new vehicles

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - The Camden County Commission approved $165,000 for the Mid-County Fire Protection District to replace three-decades-old vehicles.

“A great quantity of our calls last year were COVID related. It put a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles. So what we did is when the ARPA funds become available, we sent a proposal to the county commission, and asked them if they would consider replacing three of our quick response vehicles, which is what we use for our emergency medical calls,” said Frandsen.

“We cover about a third of the county, about 230 square miles. We currently have seven fire stations strategically placed throughout the fire district,” said Chief Frandsen.

Commissioner Don Williams says getting the stations this federal money falls under a public safety matter.

“They do a lot of work for the other fire districts. They help out with the police departments. And it was it was pretty obvious that this is a very, very good use of that ARPA money,” said Commissioner Williams.

Chief Frandsen says the trucks are beneficial on the more rural roads.

“Diesel prices are extremely high right now. With the amount of traffic and the curvy roads, it’s just very difficult to get around with the bigger vehicles. So we use smaller pickup truck type vehicles,” said Frandsen.

The current trucks will be sold. The district will go through state bidding to find the three new ones.

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