Valley Head Mayor Pro Tem Adele Phillips and Valley Head Fire Chief Will Blackburn, and Valley Head Town Clerk Debra Rhodes were on hand Friday, June 13, to accept delivery of a KMC 5-ton pumper/tanker truck from the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC). This emergency vehicle replaces one destroyed by flooding that occurred on April 29. The Valley Head Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) in DeKalb County lost several pieces of essential firefighting equipment during the flood, including a tanker truck. According to Fire Chief Will Blackburn, “Neighboring VFDs from Hammondville and Mentone have been currently handling all of Valley Head’s fire calls. This equipment will go a long way toward helping us get back to normal operations.”
The replacement truck was acquired by the AFC through the Firefighter Property Program (FFP), created in 2005 by an agreement between the US Forest Service and the US Department of Defense (DoD). This program provides excess DoD military property to emergency service providers, with ownership of the equipment being passed from the federal government to the local organization. Greg Wood, AFC’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Coordinator, commented, “The Alabama Forestry Commission obtains surplus property from surrounding military installations that can be converted to fire suppression and emergency response vehicles, making it available to volunteer fire departments across the state to assist with community fire protection. There is a priority waiting list, but an emergency exception was made in this instance.”
The mission of the Alabama Forestry Commission is to protect and sustain Alabama’s forest resources using professionally applied stewardship principals and education, ensuring that the state’s forests contribute to abundant timber and wildlife, clean air and water, and a healthy economy. To learn more about the AFC or locate the nearest county office, visit www.forestry.alabama.gov.
Standing with the pumper/tanker truck presented to Valley Head Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) by the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) are (left to right): David Davis, AFC Federal Excess Personal Property; Greg Wood, AFC Volunteer Fire Assistance Coordinator; David Bullion, AFC North Regional Volunteer Fire Assistance Coordinator; Jeff Keener, AFC DeKalb County Ranger Specialist; Will Blackburn, Valley Head VFD Fire Chief; Dan Green, AFC DeKalb County Forestry Management Specialist; Jon Burt, AFC DeKalb County Forestry Worker; and Adele Phillips, Valley Head Mayor Pro Tem.