Funding the Company
FACT: Many people think that we are fully funded by a "fire tax" or that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides us with all the funding we need. This is not the case.Only 11.11% of our funding comes from Bridgeton Township.
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You can also mail a check or money order to:
The Upper Black Eddy Fire Company
PO Box 171
Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972
We are 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation, all donations are tax deductible.
Our Funding Requirements & Sources
We welcome anyone who wants to see our financial information to come for a visit - we will be happy to open the books for a public review at any time.Our main expenses are operational. We are required to carry extensive insurance, we spend thousands upon thousand of dollars a year on insurance premiums. Equipment (tools we use and gear we wear) and Apparatus (trucks we drive) require both constant preventaive maintenence as well as repair and replacement. Firefighting equipment is incredibly expensive. How expensive? Have a look for yourself:
Just the COAT we wear is over $600 (see example)
We'd love to be able to afford walkie-talkies for all members - but at over $1,800 each, it's a steep cost to bear.
The main issue we face is not that we're running a station with insane spending on big-screen TV's and chartering cruises for officers (we're not!), it's that the services and equipment we MUST buy is just more and more expensive.
Our sources of regular operational funding are as follows:
Community donations & fund drive events: We send out letters twice a year soliciting funds, and we hold various events, such as community breakfasts, to raise money for the company. We occasionally get donations from people who use our services, although there is no requirement to do so. Donations & Fundraising Events account for about 50% of our operating funds.
Hall Rentals and Special Services: We rent out our firehouse for parties, and we occasionally are called to hose down a driveway or parking lot. In warm weather, we use our tanker to fill pools for a fee of $100 per 1,800 galons of water. This accounts for less than 5% of our funding.
Township Donations: Bridgeton, Tinicum and Nockamixon Townships each give us a donation every year, this accounts for about 11% of our funding.
Relief Association: We also receive funding from the Commonwealth of PA in the amount of about $16,000 a year from a special fee that is charged to out-of-state insurance companies. This money is a special allocation that can only be used for certain firefighter safety expenses - for example, we could buy firefighter a new jacket with this money, but we could not repair a damaged truck tire with this money.
We try to fund major purchases and the remaining budget deficits with grants as much as possible, and when a grant is not enough or is not available, we use low-interest loans if available. We currently are paying off one loan - for our KME Pumper - at a cost of over $12,000 a year. That loan will be paid off in 2017.
In the next two years, we may have to replace Engine 47-1 at a cost of about $300,000.
This is why your donations matter so much to us. You can mail us a check, or click on the "Donate Now" button to the left and help us immediately. We are 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation, all donations are tax deductible.
Make a Donation Now With your Credit Card!
We use PayPal as a payment processor but you DO NOT need a PayPal account to make a donation
Key Fundraising Projects and Donation Opportunities
While the bulk of our fundraising activities are simply to keep the company operating, we do have a number of key projects for which we are seeking individual or corporate donors.
Engine 47-1 Replacement: $350,000 - currently at 0% of goal
Our oldest fire engine is a 1983 FMC Pumper that no longer meets any national standards. We have repeatedly sought and have not been able to get a federal grant to replace it, and now we are seeking significant donations to replace this rapidly aging vehicle. We are still pursuing other grant options, and if these are awarded, we will direct any funds donated for the Engine 47-1 replacement project to one or more of the other projects.
PASS Device & Radio Upgrades
A PASS device is worn by a firefighter in a fire. If the firefighter does not move for a period of a time it sounds a very loud alarm. New standards and technologies have rendered our 20 year old PASS devices obsolete, and we intend to replace them. Additionally, current NFPA standards recommend that all firefighters and fire police be equipped with walkie-talkies. Fortunately, we do not need to buy the expensive new digital radios to equip every, which would cost about $30,000. We can use simpler analog radios now, however, it's still about $630 per radio, and we'd need at least 12 to properly equip the company. In addition, we need a new digital base station radio at the firehouse to replace the old analog radio, and that's another $2,500 project.
Firehouse Infrastructure Upgrades: $120,0000 - currently at 20% of goal.
The firehouse was built in 1976, and the basic infrastructure - plumbing, heating, electrical - is still the same as was installed then. In addition we have needed some basic repairs on the building. We're taking the projects on a case-by-case basis, funding them as we can get grants or allocate funding.
In 2006, we accomplished the following:
- Replaced dishwasher in kitchen
- Replaced fire alarm system
- Procured emergency backup generator
- Replaced low-efficiency lighting with high-efficiency lighting on first floor
In 2007, we accomplished the following:
- Refurbish Business Office
- Installed new sot
- Seal-Coat & Stripe Parking Lot
We have the following major tasks yet to be funded:
- Install Smoke Removal System for Engine Bay (Approximately $20,000)
- Replace boiler & related equipment (Approximately $14,000)
- Update bathrooms with low-flow and automatic toilets ($1,000)
- Upgrade electrical panels ($3,000)
- Remodel Meeting Room ($2,500)
- Remodel Banquet Hall ($3,000)
- Upgrade Windows