The Cole County Commission awarded a $500,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to the Cole County Fire Protection District, newstribune.com reported.

The fire department used the grant to purchase 80 self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) and spare parts for the SCBAs, the report said.

An SCBA is a device consisting of a harness, air tank and mask that provides air to firefighters in dangerous situations.

Specifically, the funds go toward the purchase of 80 snap change harnesses, 80 45-minute air cylinders and 80 face masks, the report said. The Cole County Fire Protection District also bought 80 additional air cylinders and 21 additional face masks using the ARPA funds.

The previous SCBAs were 28 years old, weighed more than 40 pounds, had 20 minutes of air capacity and parts were not available to replace old ones, according to the report. The new SCBAs weigh about 20 pounds and have up to 45 minutes of air.

The Cole County Fire Protection District, which serves 220 square miles, is the first fire department in Cole County to receive apparatus through the ARPA grant, the report said.

The city of Trumann is moving forward with plans to build a new fire station, kait8.com reported.

A tornado destroyed the fire station located on Main Street in Dec. 2021. Since then, the fire station has been left empty.

On Monday, March 27, the city approved a bond ordinance that will provide the city with $1.6 million for the new station, the report said.

This is on top of the $1 million the city already received through an insurance payout, according to a city official, bringing the total to $2.6 million.

The city official said the city was able to pass the bond ordinance without voters because the city won’t be taxing the citizens to pay the bonds back.

Instead, the money that will pay those bonds back will come from a franchise tax that is already collected by the city, the report said.

An additional franchise tax ordinance was passed on Tuesday, Feb. 14, according to the report.