Oakland/Promise Land Fire Department Receives South Shore Foundation Grant for Equipment
February 2000

FLIPPIN, Ark. - Oakland and Promise Land fire fighters have received a grant from the South Shore Foundation to help them purchase new communications equipment. The grant of $3,500 was approved in late 1999, and combined with $2,500 the fire department has raised.

Fire Chief Mike Scrima said the total of $6,000 will be used to replace a 20-year-old emergency dispatch system and improve communications with other supporting agencies. The equipment purchased includes 40 new Motorola pagers, two 10-channel, hand-held radios to allow some personnel to be in contact with the dispatch center and one another, and two mobile radios in two primary responding fire trucks.

The new equipment not only improves communications, but could contribute to a lower fire insurance rating, Scrima said. The fire department has a membership of approximately 460 and provides fire and medical protection to another 200 nonmembers.

The South Shore Foundation is the charitable foundation of Northern Arkansas Telephone Company at Flippin. Its governing board has 14 trustees from the fields of education, business, and government in Marion County and adjoining communities. The South Shore Foundation grants funds to nonprofit agencies and communities to further the goals of educational advancement, environmental preservation, community betterment, and economic development. NATCO President Steven G. Sanders also chairs the board of trustees of the foundation. For more information or to receive a grant application, call 870-453-3333.