CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Service was awarded an new inflatable boat from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation Thursday, February 11. The boat was awarded through a grant and presented to Montgomery County officials at the Firehouse Subs restaurant on Madison Street
The boat will be used in “Blue Way” water rescue missions where a traditional boat can’t be used by first responders. It will allow victims to be reached easier and faster, especially in shallow water. The boat is valued at close to $14,000.
Members of the Montgomery County Rescue Squad were on hand along with Emergency Management Agency Director and County Fire Chief, Jerry Buchannan and County Mayor Jim Durrett. Buchannan talked about what the new boat will mean to local first responders.
“It’s going to mean a great deal to our fleet. We can get up through the shallow water now with the inflatable boat. With more and more activity on the Blue Way and shallow waters, this will make it easier and quicker for us to get to them,” said Buchannan.
County Mayor Durrett echoed Buchannan’s words and said the boat was something that was really needed. With the Blue Ways getting as active as they are on West Fork Creek and Red River, we didn’t really have a good way to get to people and now we do.
The new inflatable boat will hold eight people and Buchannan slso said the boat is equipped with a jet spray instead of a propeller which is what will help it move easier in the more shallow waters of a creek or the Blue Way.
In 2005, Firehouse Subs created the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation with the mission of providing funding, life-saving equipment, and educational opportunities for first-responders and public safety organizations. In Tennessee alone, $873,000 in equipment has been donated to hometown heroes.