The Southwestern Hancock Joint Fire District got some great news recently.

They were awarded a $316,285 federal grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.

We spoke with District Fire Chief Corey Miracle about they’ll utilize the grant money.

As the chief mentioned, they’ll use the money to replace 39 air packs and to purchase a cascade/compressor filling station to refill air bottles after calls.

He said it was a “dire need situation” because when the Southwestern Hancock Joint Fire District was formed about two years ago the equipment from the three departments (Jenera, Rawson, Mt. Cory) was not interoperable, but now they have the money to fix that problem.

The Southwestern Hancock Joint Fire District is an all-volunteer department and Corey says they’re always looking for more people to help out.