By Darlene Denstorff
The Advocate
Copyright 2007 Capital City Press
All Rights Reserved
HILLARYVILLE, La. — Fifth Ward Volunteer Fire Department Chief Les Ewen couldn’t wait to turn the key and go for a spin in his department’s new off-road vehicle.
Ewen and a delegation of volunteer firefighters gathered at the station Feb. 7 to accept the Polaris Ranger six-wheel vehicle from representatives of the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company.
For Ewen, the donation means his volunteer firefighters can more easily respond to emergencies in wooded areas and down narrow roads in his rural district.
“This donation really means a lot to us,” Ewen said, as he walked around the red vehicle.
Ewen said the vehicle will come in handy the next time the department responds to an emergency call and a train is blocking nearby railroad tracks, or in isolated areas where large emergency vehicles cannot travel.
The vehicle also will be available for other departments to use during emergencies, he said.
The Fire Department found out about the grant program through a roundabout way.
The story began when Russ Stevenson, department chaplain and community board member for the department, asked Ewen if his church could use the fire station to host an Easter festival.
Stevenson said the arrangement worked out so well that he wanted to do something special for the department to say thank you.
That something special started when Stevenson mentioned the Fire Department to fellow church member Mark Lawson, a Baton Rouge resident who is a representative for U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands.
Lawson told Stevenson about his company’s Operation Ranger program. A few months later, the Fire Department took delivery of the new piece of equipment.
“Our Operation Ranger program exists both to recognize the service of our nation’s first responders and to provide a versatile vehicle that will enhance emergency response at the community level,” said company representative Scott Weicker said.
Weicker is in charge of corporate contributions. He said once he saw the typography of the area, he realized the Fifth Ward Volunteer Department “will really be able to make full use of the Ranger.”
“They’re the real heroes for all of us,” he said of the volunteer firefighters.
Weicker, who made the trip to Hillaryville from Connecticut, said the local donation was the first of 2007 for the program.
The local donation was part of a national program that has provided more than 265 vehicles to firefighting, emergency medical services, police, emergency management, search and rescue, and wildlife conservation and law enforcement organizations across all 50 states.
Weicker said the Fifth Ward department submitted a “very impressive” application complete with a video. The department is one of only 70 organizations selected from more than 2,000 applications that will receive an Operation Ranger grant this year.