Pat Thompson got to speak and advocate alongside President Joe Biden as he signed the Fire Grants and Safety Act in the President’s iconic Oval Office.
Thompson serves as the chief of the Airport-Sorgho Fire Department locally, but nationally, he is the legislative Chairman for the National Volunteer Fire Council. Representing the NVFC, he was present during the signing and heard the President’s remarks on the work Volunteer Fire Departments do throughout the nation.
“It was a very moving experience and something that’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience, especially for someone from a small community like mine,” Thompson said.
When he was notified that he would be going, he immediately took the invite and sent in the necessary information just a week before going to the Nation’s capital. The opportunity opened after a bipartisan bill was approved in Congress to grant the Fire Grants and Safety Act.
With the passage, Thompson said a grant program will continue “as long as it’s funded” to fund local volunteer stations nationwide. According to Thompson, funding has decreased over the years, from roughly $700 million at the start to $360 million allocated in 2023.
“This was a reauthorization of funding for the budget. So, the next step will be on the next budget cycle when the President will say how much he wants to fund, and the rest of the government will say how much they want to fund, and somehow they’ll come to a compromise on how to fund this project in the future,” Thompson said.
So, as the President signed this grant and act in support, Thompson knew the gravitas this event would carry for many stations nationwide.
“To be able to go to the Oval Office and participate in such a prestigious event in the presence of the most powerful man in the world was just amazing,” he said.
Locally, Thompson knows that bodies are working toward funding and supporting the Volunteer stations. He noted that the Fiscal Court continuously tries to assist the department in its ventures, specifically the building and insurance the Court covers.
When purchasing a new apparatus or equipment, they often have a split with the court, but not many stations can say the same nationwide. He noted that a colleague in Kansas serves an area of almost 1,000 square miles but doesn’t receive the same funding that the Daviess County stations receive now.
He noted that within Kentucky, the departments now receive $10,000 to $15,000 annually from the state. While they are grateful for the allocation, he said it doesn’t spread as widely as it used to.
“$15,000 a year can only buy about five sets of gear. That doesn’t allow you to operate in any other function. You still have to pay for your fuel; you still have to pay for utilities, phone service, and all that stuff that you have to have at the fire station. All that stuff has to be paid for,” Thompson said.
Thompson said he is encouraged by the unified effort of Congress that the new efforts will help the stations get closer to filling the gap they have been facing for years.
“With the divide that’s in this country right now, on the political side, the idea that this is a nearly unanimous bipartisan effort says a lot that the first responders truly are the backbone of this country,” Thompson said.
