Fentress To Apply for Community Development Block Grant

Fentress County will apply for a Community Development Block Grant to upgrade the fire department.

County Executive J. Michael Cross said the grant will go towards purchasing a new pumper fire truck for the Jamestown unit.

“We are going to apply for a pumper truck for our fire department. And it would be stationed at Unit 1,” Cross said. “Which means it would be activated for any structural fire within the county. So it would answer all structural fire calls.”

Cross said he estimates the county needs approximately 330 thousand dollars to purchase the truck.

Fentress County considered applying for the purchase of a four-wheel drive ambulance but decided the pumper truck meets the need first.

“The existing pumper truck that we have got is down and has been for about two years. So there is a definite need and a lot of the trucks we have got are really old,” Cross said. “The average is probably is thirty to thirty-two, thirty-three years old.  So we are in a desperate need of upgrading.”

The Fentress County Commission approved the application for the CDBG at the last meeting.