Nichols Fire Department continues upgrading
by Margaret Hurlbert
March 14, 2020

NICHOLS, Iowa—After announcing plans to create an ag rescue trailer, the Nichols Volunteer Fire Department has raised the funds necessary to purchase all the equipment they need. Along with creating the trailer, upcoming repairs and upgrades to the fire station show the department has worked hard to upgrade for the year ahead.

At the beginning of February, the department shared they needed about $3,000 to purchase an ag rescue trailer and had already brought in $2,000 (this newspaper erroneously reported they needed about $31,050 and had brought in $22,000). Once people across the region heard that the department needed funds to finish their project, they responded, helping the department raise $3,000.

One person, Matt Reimers, even went one step further, putting the department in touch with American Eagle Trailers, which offered them a trailer of the same dimension for only $2,500. Reimers also pledged to cover the cost of transporting the trailer to Nichols. The department plans on using the additional $500 to purchase rope and other supplies to fully stock the trailer.

Fire Chief Kevin Flynn shared his gratitude at the March 11 Nichols City Council meeting. “We did meet our goal, thanks to the help of a lot of generous local people and some not local people who just read about it in the paper,” he said. Over the summer, Flynn plans to hold a session for the council highlighting the abilities of the ag rescue trailer.

Along with finishing the ag rescue trailer project the department looks forward to updating the lighting in their vehicle bay as well. Volunteer firefighter and council member Russ Grim shared that he had found LED high bay lights that cost $1,400 for eight, but that if they qualified for an Alliant energy efficiency rebate, they would receive $100 dollars back on each light, lowering the total cost to $600. Grim shared the department hopes to purchase LEDS because they will make the space brighter while lowering energy costs.

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