Thanks to a grant from the Lauderdale County Development Committee, the fire department now has four Res-Q-Jacks, which stabilize and elevate a vehicle.

“I was looking for equipment that could benefit us in these situations,” Mitchell said. “I saw these jacks, read about them, and then talked with Rep. Tim Melson, R-Florence, and Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Greenhill, about the need. They suggested we apply for grant money through the Lauderdale County Development Committee.”

He said the department received a total of $10,558.50, which provided for the purchase of the jacks and some water tanks for the trucks.

“Without the grant money there is no way we could have purchased the jacks and the water tanks,” the chief said. “This is a luxury for our department. We appreciate Melson and Pettus, and the community development committee for the money.”

A Hiram-area resident has won the award in Portage County for the past six years. In 2013 and again from 2015 to 2018, a member of the Groselle family won the money and donated it to the Hiram Fire Department, Groselle said. His father Jack won in 2013, 2016 and 2017, and Jason won it in 2015 and 2018, he said. 

The funds were then donated to the Hiram Firefighters Association to purchase equipment for the department. This year, the money was used to purchase a Great Wall Grain rescue tube to help rescue people trapped in grain vents, along with Innotex Gray Hood 25s for Hiram firefighters to wear during firefighting operations, Groselle said. 

The department trained with a grain rescue tube on the Groselle family farm last August and “thought it would be a good investment for our community and surrounding communities to utilize,” Groselle said. “Normally, budget funds aren’t approved to buy something like that.” 

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