Local rescue squad receives $24,000 through state-wide grant

CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL)—In March, the Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshall’s Office (SFMO) announced that 104 rescue squads across the state would receive grants totaling $3 million through the Rescue Squad Grant Program.

The Carter County Emergency and Rescue Squad received $24,681 from the program. Deputy Director Nancy Garrison said the grant money goes towards expenses not covered by the county.

“We get some funding from our EMS side where we bill for services,” said Garrison. “We also get some funding from the county and the city. But anything that’s extra, all of the rescue equipment is expensive. And when things need to be replaced, that’s a lot of our budget that we don’t really have in our budget for.”

Garrison added that they were thankful to receive any grant money.

“We weren’t sure we were going to qualify because not everyone in the area who applied did receive any grant money,” said Garrison. “We were really happy to learn that we had gotten everything we had applied for.”

Garrison said their grant money went towards purchasing outdated equipment, including their cutters.

“The ones we had were hydraulic,” said Garrison. “So they required a generator to be operating and all the lines and for there to not be leaks. So we’re replacing them all with battery-powered electronic tools that are a lot more portable. And we have extra batteries with them as well.”

Other squads receiving grants include Johnson County EMS and Ambulance Service, Bluff City Rescue Squad and the Unicoi County Emergency Management.

A complete list of qualifying rescue squads and volunteer fire departments can be found below:

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