The Nenana Volunteer Fire Department is the owner of a new rescue riverboat, thanks to a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
“This is a great thing,” Fire Chief Joe Forness said. “It’s definitely going to benefit the community and surrounding communities.”
The department recently gained status as a 501c(4) nonprofit organization, which gives the department the ability to raise funds and accept donations for equipment and supplies on its own.
“We had a local citizen who knew we were in need of a boat and knew our financial situation and had the ability to purchase a boat for us and then donate it to the volunteer department,” he said.
Forness had been trying to acquire a rescue boat for more than a year and even started an online fundraising campaign in April 2015. The fundraising wasn’t very effective and didn’t come close to the goal of more than $50,000.
Forness maintained then and now that the rescue boat is critical to provide emergency rescues on local waterways during the summer and shoulder seasons.