The six-figure award will allow the San Diego County Fire Authority and firefighting agencies in Alpine, Julian and Borrego Springs to obtain new state-of-the-art equipment, including upgraded maps and radios, self-contained breathing units, medical equipment, and mobile computers on fire engines, and will also pay for additional education and outreach on defensible space and other vital fire protections, according to SDG&E.

The move will save the city of 1,321 people about $10,000 a year. The Elkhart Volunteer Fire Department started in 1936.

"We've been wrestling with this for quite a while," Elkhart Mayor Mike Gordon said. "It's time for it to end, so the city and the fire department can move on."

The DeKalb County fire union posted a letter to Facebook that was an appeal to the board of county commissioners to allow a SPLOST vote in November. It would be a one cent sales tax that would go only to building and equipment improvements.

Captain Tom Burrell told Artz several fire stations only have one restroom in stations with mal