Mention the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and for many people the first thing that comes to mind are the state parks. Fishing licenses and efforts to stop pollution are other things the department is well known for. But few probably realize that it has a role in supporting rural and wildland firefighting efforts.

The fire departments in six area communities have recently benefitted from the support of the DNR. They received Volunteer Fire Assistance grants to help them pay for needed equipment.

These are the departments that received grants:

• Dayton – $3,500 for radios

• Duncombe – $3,500 for some equipment for a new truck

• Lehigh – $3,500 for radios

• Manson – $1,645 for a piece of equipment used to draw water from remote sites

• Rockwell City – $1,786 for pagers, foam and a drip torch

• Stratford – $3,500 for radios

All of those departments had to chip in an equal amount of their own money to match their grant. These grants are critical for fire departments that have definite equipment needs, but usually don’t have a lot of money to pay for those needs.

The firefighters in those six communities don’t respond to as many calls as their counterparts in more populated areas, but that doesn’t mean those emergency situations are any less dangerous. The risks to firefighters and civilians are just as great as those faced in bigger communities. The firefighters need to be well-equipped to deal with them and the DNR grants make that possible.

And let’s not forget that these communities are protected by small groups of people who spend hundreds of hours away from their families every year, training and responding to emergencies.

They deserve our respect.