The Sister Lakes Fire Department recently received a $5,000 grant from the Pokagon Fund to go towards the purchase of wildland firefighting gear.

This gear is used for fighting fires in fields, woods and other non-structural situations where lighter weight protection is needed.

“The wildland gear will allow us to outfit our firefighters with cooler, lighter weight gear and save our heavy structural gear for when it is required,” said Chief Anthony Lozada. “The structural gear is roughly $2,500 per person. One tear from some barbed wire in a field and we are down a firefighter until it can be repaired or replaced. The Wildland gear is designed for use in this type of woods and field environment where the structural gear is designed for interior firefighting.”

“Had we not received the grant from the Pokagon Fund, I doubt we could have afforded this specialized gear,” said Sister Lakes Fire Department President Jim Scholz. “It was not in our budget for this year but when the fund was able to cover 60 percent of the cost for us, it became something we could not pass up.

“With the help of the Pokagon Fund, we are able to outfit 20 firefighters with this new wildland gear. The whole department is thankful to the Pokagon Fund for its community support and specifically for supporting us in this endeavor.”

The Sister Lakes Fire Department is a 501C3 nonprofit community based volunteer organization that provides fire and emergency services to portions of Bainbridge, Keeler and Silver Creek Townships in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.