A large-volume water pumper has been on the Fredenberg Volunteer Fire Department's wish list for four years.
That wish will be fulfilled, thanks to a $240,388 grant from the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.
The grant is part of $2 million in federal grants to Minnesota first responders announced Thursday, according to a news release from Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn.
Mark Toms, chief of the 21-member Fredenberg department, said the pumper, with a 2,500-gallon tank, would cost about $300,000. The grant would be enough to ensure they'll be able to get it, Toms said.
Toms said the new pumper will replace a 1983 vehicle that was obtained from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The pumper on that vehicle no longer works.
