As Flames Burn, Small Fire Department Discovers Truck Has Busted Pump; HAF’s Rapid Response Grant Provides Help

Engine 1134 on crash response for Delta Fire.

Engine 1134 on crash response for Delta Fire. [Photo by Carol Fall]

Press release from the Humboldt Area Foundation:

It was late July and the full scale of the Carr Fire was just becoming clear as flames closed Highway 299 near Redding and citizens in the surrounding area prepared to evacuate. In the small town of Trinity Center, on the shore of Trinity Lake, the volunteer fire department was preparing to defend their town and offer ground support to relief efforts. It was sheer coincidence that led a vacationing firefighter from Roseville to stop by the station and examine the department’s two trucks. The firefighter was staying at nearby KOA and, stranded by the highway’s closure, decided to see if he could lend a hand.

“We told him the truck had a little leak,” says firefighter Carol Fall. “He said, ‘No, that’s not a little leak, the pump’s busted.’ That’s when we were panicking.”

Fall, who had attended a grantmaking workshop facilitated by the Humboldt Area Foundation, almost immediately called Cassandra Wagner, Program Manager for Grants and Scholarships at HAF, to see if a Rapid Response grant could help cover the $6500 needed to replace equipment on the engine. In the meantime, the Carr Fire had leapt the Sacramento River, forcing thousands of people to evacuate and razing entire neighborhoods in Redding and Shasta.

“They told me, ‘We see the fire and we need our fire truck to save our community, can you help?’” says Wagner. “We were able to respond in less than 24 hours.”

With the check from HAF in the mail, the TCVFD was able to order the parts needed and repair Engine 1134 so it could go where it was needed most: Staging as crash response for CALFIRE helicopters and the Forest Service, and preparing to defend homes in their community should the fire come closer.

“The Carr Fire kept coming up our way,” says Fall of the tense days in late July and early August as the crew worked to restore the pump. “You could see it coming up the ridges on the other side [of Trinity Lake], burning down to the lake, but we never had the wind bring it down into our community.”

While Trinity Center escaped devastation, fire season is far from over in Trinity County. Engine 1134 was recently deployed for crash response on the Delta Fire, which filled the sky above Trinity Center with smoke for much of September. Hard working volunteers such as Fall will be on alert until the first rains come, and the Humboldt Area Foundation will be behind them every step of the way. Thank you to all of the generous community members who contribute to the Humboldt Area Foundation’s Opportunity Fund, which make it possible for us to quickly respond to evolving needs in Humboldt, Del Norte, Curry and Trinity counties. If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved, please contact us at 707-442-2993 or visit www.hafoundation.org.

About Humboldt Area Foundation:

Vera Vietor established the Humboldt Area Foundation in 1972. Since then, more than $70 million in grants and scholarships have been awarded in Humboldt, Del Norte, Curry and Trinity Counties. Humboldt Area Foundation promotes and encourages generosity, leadership and inclusion to strengthen our communities.

For more information on services provided by the Foundation please visit the Humboldt Area Foundation website at hafoundation.org or call (707) 442-2993.

Photos: Engine 1134 on crash response for Delta Fire, Trinity Center Volunteer Fire Department volunteers pose next to restored Engine 1134. PHOTO CREDIT: Carol Fall

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Onetess4me@gmail.com
Guest
5 years ago

I know this is basically an advertisement for HAF but it is a story that needs to be told about the importance of giving and organizing the giving so it’s accessible. HAF has endowments in so many areas to support so many causes from scholarships to animal welfare. Sometimes they are for small amounts but they can add up.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

I know this is basically an advertisement for HAF but it is a story that needs to be told about the importance of giving and organizing the giving so it’s accessible. HAF has endowments available in so many areas to support so many causes from scholarships to animal welfare. Sometimes they are for small amounts but they can add up.

Chuck U
Guest
Chuck U
5 years ago

Great job HAF! Thank you fire fighters!

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
5 years ago

And a big thank you to the Roseville fire fighter for noticing when the pump was cracked and broken because without that diagnosis things could have gotten really bad

Stormy
Guest
Stormy
5 years ago

All local nonprofits donate to their friends in the community (cronysim) and politically correct causes of their choice (favoritism). None would ever donate to a cause that promoted patriotism, nationalism, Americanism. Humboldt is a cesspool of crime and these nonprofits sit in their shiny offices with their fingers on the keyboard ready to give thousands or millions to causes only their ilk believe in. Meanwhile, the hard working average taxpayer living paycheck to paycheck, the once great backbone of this country, get nothing. And these lefties wonder why Donald Trump is in office. It was a protest vote against people and organizations exactly as described.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Stormy

Start your own fund for whatever patriotic cause you prefer. If you want, you can create a scholarship for the study of the Constitution or a grant for a budget waste watchdog group or classes on American history. There are lots of already existing funds at HAF that you can leave a bit of inheritance or you could create one for yourself. One of my fantasies is to create a scholarship for the the High School student who won the most ribbons in the most categories of agriculture at the county fair- the all around homesteading champ. Or maybe just a prize for the family in a best garden plan for self sufficiency.

The one thing that defines the independent American so well is doing something, not waiting for others to do it for them.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
5 years ago
Reply to  Stormy

I doubt you voted for Trump but nice job trolling and trying to make people think that Trump voters dont donate to nonprofit organizations. anyone that thinks Trump voters dont donate please look a little better

Y Knot?
Guest
Y Knot?
5 years ago

How do they not know the pump is busted?

This story is wild and I really don’t believe it, but hey, they got the cash.

Good for an out of towner on saving the day.

Really?

Ron
Guest
Ron
5 years ago

Thank God for placing the right people in the right places at the right time. Great job firemen and fantastic job Cassandra Wagner.