The department had applied for grants in the past but never one of this size. The Thornton general fund covers the vast majority of the department’s costs, and fire officials generally have only applied for smaller grants to acquire new equipment, such as thermal imagers or cardiac monitors. Officials identified the SAFER grant as the city’s best shot for funding until the city budget can meet demand. After applying in February and waiting six months,FEMA awarded the department $1,957,068 million in mid-August.

Wilker purchased the truck, a 2005 model, last fall at an auction in Glencoe and said it was a deal he just couldn't pass up.

Ryan Kunkle, assistant chief of the Walton Community Volunteer Fire Department, said the 2008 Sutphen fire engine was bought for $67,000 from St. John-based Fire Service Inc. and that it had formerly been used by a fire department in Brownsburg.

Kunkle said the department keeps two engines, a tanker truck, a rescue truck and a grass fire truck at its main station in Walton and then another engine, tanker truck and grass fire truck at its station on 200 East and 450 South.

The program will begin by exploring why fire towers were needed, going back to the early 1900s on a national and state level. Then Laurie will focus on the local area, particularly Red Hill Fire Tower, 8 miles northeast of Grahamsville, and Balsam Lake Mountain, 20 miles northeast of Livingston Manor.