Tulsa County CARES Dedicates Funding for Fire Departments
By JARREL WADE
Tulsa County
The Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently approved $1.2 million to reimburse seven Tulsa County municipalities for fire department overtime costs.
“Firefighters across Tulsa County do more than put out house fires,” said Tulsa County Commissioner Ron Peters. “They are a critical first responders who are in many cases cross-trained to provide paramedic support. We need to support them as much as possible as COVID-19 cases continue to spike, and frontline health care staffing continues to be a priority. We’re proud to support frontline workers and the municipalities they protect.”
Tulsa County CARES funds will reimburse the following amounts for fire department overtime during the pandemic:
• City of Tulsa: $877,427
• City of Broken Arrow: $114,000
• City of Glenpool: $97,508
• City of Collinsville: $22,577
• City of Jenks: $19,855
• City of Sand Springs: $18,486
• City of Bixby: $14,114
CARES funds have also purchased personal protective equipment through Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency (TAEMA) for various county fire departments. For example, Tulsa Fire Department received 2,400 protective masks through TAEMA, and Turley Fire Department received 300 N95 masks, 148 face shields, 650 protective masks, 15 respirators and extra filters, and other equipment.
Berryhill and Keystone fire protection districts have also received $42,147 and $25,461, respectively, for COVID-19 related expenses and equipment.
“On behalf of firefighters, I want to thank Tulsa County Commissioners Ron Peters, Karen Keith, and Stan Sallee, their dedicated staff, County Clerk Michael Willis, and the CARES Review Committee members for supporting first responders on the frontlines of this pandemic fight,” said Tulsa Fire IAFF Local 176 President Matt Lay. “For our firefighters, the COVID-19 mission has included everything from providing medical treatment in the field for confirmed positive patients, to assisting in contact tracing, creating and performing new decontamination methods, and ongoing COVID testing.”
For more information about how Tulsa County CARES is spending federal CARES funding in Tulsa County, visit tulsacountycares.org.
