By Samantha Hogan
The Frederick News-Post
THURMONT, Md. — Emergency services in Thurmont are run on volunteers, and town officials are not blind to that fact.
The Board of Commissioners presented donations to the Guardian Hose Co., Thurmont Community Ambulance Service and the food bank on Tuesday to help the organizations cover costs while their volunteers cover the town.
“We don’t do much for you. You do a lot for the community,” said Commissioner Martin Burns, after a $30,000 check was presented to the fire company.
While the three groups would have liked to put the donations aside in rainy day funds, the need to upgrade equipment and stock the shelves was already upon them. The Guardian Hose Co. will invest in a new truck to replace one or two emergency vehicles in its fleet. The purchase will come with an anticipated $500,000 debt.
Burns was quick to point out that cost could easily be on the shoulders of taxpayers if the town didn’t have such a dedicated volunteer force.
A new vehicle is also not a luxury the fire company can generally afford, Mayor John Kinnaird said. Some of the fleet is approaching 30 years old.
“I think it would be an understatement to say you get a lot of use out of your trucks,” Kinnaird said.
Kinnaird also presented a $30,000 check to the Thurmont Community Ambulance Service, which has responded to his own home several times, he said.
The organization hopes to invest in a new ambulance, which is expected to cost approximately $240,000. The group anticipates getting seven to 10 years of use from the emergency response vehicle.
The ambulance service will host its first carnival from Aug. 21 to 25 to help defer costs.
The town also presented a $6,000 check to the Thurmont Food Bank, which is short on food, said Dick Lee, who volunteers at the food bank.
“Without the food bank, we’d have a lot of hungry people in Thurmont, every night, and the surrounding area,” Kinnaird said. “And they provide a lot of nutrition to our residents.”
Copyright 2018 The Frederick News-Post