The South Walton Fire District recently donated $58,500 worth of much-needed fire equipment to the Gadsden County Fire Service.
The donation includes 27 air packs valued at $1,000 each; 81 air bottles valued at $300 each; and 86 masks valued at $200 each.
The South Walton Fire District is a professional fire/rescue agency that serves the premier beach communities of southern Walton County.
The donation came about when volunteer advocate Betty Atkins of the Greenshade community in Quincy went looking for surplus fire equipment for the new Greenshade Dogtown Volunteer Fire Department, which is in the process of being built this summer.
The South Walton District told Atkins it could not donate to Greenshade Dogtown since it was not a fully registered station yet, but it was able to donate to the Gadsden County Fire Service instead.
Gadsden Fire Service director Andre Walker distributed the donated equipment among all 12 fire stations in his district, but he provided the most to Greenshade Dogtown in recognition of Atkins’ efforts.
Feature Photo: L-R: Andre Walker, Gadsden County EMS / Fire Service chief; Joshua Houston, Gadsden County fire coordinator; Richard Talbert, South Walton fire chief; Ryan Crawford, South Walton Fire District operations chief. Photo courtesy Gadsden County Fire Service.
By Randall Lieberman