Fire trucks donated
Area fire departments pay it forward to Camp Alma
By Jonni Gratton
Paying it forward and supporting rural fire districts and fellow military service members is what giving back means for two area fire chiefs whose fire departments donated fire trucks to Camp Alma within the past year.
Once a month, area fire chief officers gather during Fire Defense Board meetings in Eugene. Dan Buckwald, Veterans Legacy Executive Director, gave a presentation on Camp Alma and garnered the generous support of two area departments.
“Dan requested that if they had any surplus equipment or apparatus they were thinking of donating or getting rid of to keep him in mind,” said Jim Bailor, assistant fire chief of Lorane Rural Fire Department who also served as a radar operator in the U.S. Army. Today, a wildland truck with a 1,000-gallon capacity donated this winter by Lorane Rural Fire sits at Camp Alma, along with a 500-gallon pumper truck. Fire Truck Donated by Lorane Rural Fire donated earlier in the fall by Harrisburg Fire and Rescue.
Longtime Fire Chief Randy Wood, formerly fire chief of Santa Clara Fire Department and now fire chief of Lane Fire Authority, reminded Bailor of Camp Alma when Lorane Rural Fire was getting a new fireland rig. “So, we donated the engine to Veterans Legacy,” Bailor said.
Lorane Rural Fire received the wildland truck from the Oregon Department of Forestry when ODF was updating. “We’ve had it for over 20 years. It’s been good to us,” Bailor said. “The procedure in rural districts is that if you have a piece of equipment, instead of selling it, you donate to a district that’s just starting up. You pass it forward to the next agency starting. Basically, Veterans Legacy (Camp Alma) is up the road, so we decided to donate to them.”
Donated by Lorane Rural Fire
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Donated by Lorane Rural Fire
“We have a connection to it. We enjoyed that vehicle and would rather see it used by a Veterans group. That’s more important for those of us who have served. Anytime we can help our Veterans, we are all for that,” he said. The two fire trucks will serve as fire protection for the structures and the surrounding woodlands at Camp Alma and provide Veteran residents with mechanical and wildland fire experience, including joint training in the future.
Lorane Rural Fire received the wildland truck from the Oregon Department of Forestry when ODF was updating. “We’ve had it for over 20 years. It’s been good to us,” Bailor said. “The procedure in rural districts is that if you have a piece of equipment, instead of selling it, you donate to a district that’s just starting up. You pass it forward to the next agency starting. Basically, Veterans Legacy (Camp Alma) is up the road, so we decided to donate to them.”
