Lake City, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Lake City’s Fire Department (LCFD) has received numerous grants and donations over the year, which the department’s fire chief says has helped it purchase and upgrade necessary equipment to better serve its community.
In mid-September, the department posted on its social media that between grants and donations, it had purchased over $80,000 worth of equipment.
Just a few days ago, the department made another post on social media, saying it, along with the Monette and Bay Fire Departments, had together received a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant totaling $672,819.04. The grant will be divided among the three departments, and will be used to purchase new equipment for each departments’ self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA).
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“That’s the biggest grant we’ve ever applied for,” said LCFD Chief Hunter Timms. “We’re always looking for advancements in technology and how we can try to relieve some of the strain financially on us. If there’s a grant out there that goes towards another tool or something that we’ve been needing, or something that we have to have, will provide a better service for our citizens, we’re all about going out and putting in the work and trying to get that grant.”
LCFD crews pose with equipment purchased from grants. (Images courtesy of Lake City Fire Department)
The LCFD is expected to receive about half of the FEMA grant, Timms said, which will fund 32 new SCBA bottles, masks, and a filling station for the bottles.
In late May, the department received a grant from the Arkansas Forestry Commission for the purchase of wildland fire suppression, which includes personal protective equipment, leaf flowers, backpack pumps, and rakes. According to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, these kits are valued at around $4,850 per kit.
Other grants awarded from the MFA Oil Foundation and Black Hills Energy, which allowed for the purchase of extrication tools, battery powered tools, high-powered flashlights to outfit all of the department’s trucks.
“When I took over, a lot of our trucks didn’t have the same equipment on it, and so, you would go to a fire or a wreck or something where you needed a certain tool, but it was on a different truck that didn’t come that time,” Timms said.
Through these grants, as well as separate fundraising efforts, the LCFD purchased two sets of extrication tools. The extrication tools cost around $16,000, Timms said.
These grants and donations, Timms said, help ease financial strain on the department. It is staffed by 24 volunteer firefighters and responded to around 420 calls last year. That number is expected to increase to around 525 calls this year, according to Timms.
The LCFD’s service area, most of it rural, covers 88 square miles, including the city limits of Lake City and stretching from Lunsford to the Greene County line to the start of Jonesboro’s city limits. Around 3,800 to 4,000 people live in the department’s service area.
Funding comes from insurance premiums from those who live in Lake City, as well as a fire fee in the county district, which encompasses residents who do not live in the city.
“Between all of our funding sources, we might bring in probably, just a little bit below $100,000 a year. Which sounds like a lot of money, but then I always tell people we’re running a multimillion dollar operation down here,” Timms said.
Between costs of new fire trucks, which can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1.6 million, as well as equipment replacement and fuel costs, Timms said that budget is eaten up quickly, which is where grants and community support come in.
While the FEMA grant marks the most recent grant the department has been awarded, Timms said the department is applying for more. The LCFD has also applied for a grant through Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation to purchase 10 additional radios, which Timms said would allow every LCFD firefighter to have one.
“When we’re better equipped, when you have an emergency in our district, we’re able to help you faster and safer,” Timms said. “We’ve been pretty blessed to have the ability to provide a better product than we have in the past.”
In addition to grants aiming to assist with the department’s community service, the department takes it another step further with educational programs.
In August 2025, the department launched its Junior Firefighter Program, allowing high school students to earn their required 75 community service hours for graduation, as well as exposing them to the firefighter career path.
Then, in February, the department launched its Craighead County Firefighter 1 program, which teaches participants the basics of modern firefighting in an effort to increase the number of trained emergency response personnel across the county.
The program began with 30 students from towns across Craighead County. Eight participants remain, with the program scheduled to conclude at the end of September.
“Hopefully, that’s eight more trained personnel in Craighead County that are willing to donate their time to their cities,” Timms said.
The biggest thing Timms stressed was the important of volunteering for one’s community.
“I don’t care if they’re a part of our fire department or they live in a different city. Just get out there and volunteer,” he said. “There’s a job for everyone in the fire service. It takes everybody to make this whole operation work.”
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