The fire department will put the funds towards new specialty equipment which cleans hazardous contaminants from protective clothing worn by firefighters. 

"It is essential that we provide our firefighters with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively," Schumer said, according to the release. "Our first responders are our local heroes and our primary line of defense for safety and security--it is critical that we do all we can to ensure that they are well equipped and prepared to take on any emergency."

The new rating comes from a combination of improvements ranging from increased training and better equipment maintenance to backup turnout gear, air tanks and portable radios for every member of the department.

A partnership among the fire department, the Tullahoma Utilities Authority and the Coffee County Consolidated Communications Center led to the communications upgrades and improved water distribution to the 1,300 hydrants in the town.

Webb’s fire department is one of dozens in some of the country’s top farming communities that have received life-saving grain rescue tubes and training as part of Nationwide’s annual Nominate Your Fire Department Contest. Another one of those winners — the Westphalia Fire Department in Kansas — also used their new skills in 2015 to rescue a man who had become entrapped in a grain bin.

“It only takes seconds to become entrapped in grain and less than a minute to become completely engulfed,” said Brad Liggett, president of Nationwide Agribusiness, the No. 1 farm insurer1. “Once grain is above knee-level, it is nearly impossible to get out without assistance. Until we can convince all farmers and other grain handlers to develop a zero-entry mentality, we will strive to make tubes and rescue training as widely available as possible.”

Incorporated into the design of this new facility will be many ways to help firefighters lessen their chances of developing cancer, as research has shown firefighters have an increased risk of cancer and cancer-related deaths.

According to a recent CDC study, firefighters were found to have a greater risk of digestive, oral and respiratory cancers. In Pike Township, the number of current and retired firefighters with cancer diagnoses is about ten percent.

Recently, Pike Township put measures into place to lessen their employees’ exposure to two of the biggest carcinogens connected to fighting fires: truck exhaust and burning materials.

The county’s building committee assigned Commission Chairman Michael Fulbright, Mayor Charlie Norman and Fire Chief Eric Hileman to form a special committee to begin the search for the potential sites.

“We went through the strategic planning process and these are two areas, as far as the safety concerns of the county, we wanted to focus on first,” Fulbright said. “We want to bolster those areas and make sure we give them adequate fire coverage and give the people what they need.”

The two stations would decrease the response time to any fires or emergency situations in the two areas, cutting down volunteer response distances.