Second Vice Commander Phil Valle of Catholic War Veterans Post 1229 presented $1,000 to the Peru Fire Department during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Valle said the funds were to be used at the department’s discretion and thanked Peru Fire Chief Jeff King for his department’s service.
King accepted the donation on behalf of the fire department and said the funds will be put towards extrication equipment.
“I have the honor and a privilege on behalf of the officers and members of Catholic Board Veterans Post 1229 to present this check to you chief – as you keep the community of Peru safe and the adjoining communities safe, as well,” Valle said to King.
King said the fire department has spent about $28,000 to date on batter-operated equipment.
“So this will go towards that,” King said.
The purchased equipment will be used to cut vehicles open after an accident or perform rescues.
“Instead of running off of a large hydraulic pump that’s either attached to the truck or it’s a portable gasoline-operated motor, this uses the same batteries that your cordless drill uses to power the pump,” said Engineer Captain Bill Krolak.
King thanked the veterans organization and said the department has ordered the equipment and the donation will help defer some costs of what they have done so far.
