Clatonia fire ride to raise funds for tightly spaced fire hall
CLATONIA, Neb. (KLKN) – The Clatonia Rescue Squad is made up of around 10 volunteers who help keep 90 square miles of land, safe.
It’s one of the smallest fire districts in Nebraska, and now they are looking to expand.
The group is trying to upgrade their fire hall; a building where tight spaces conflict with their training and everyday operations.
Help is on the way from an upcoming fire ride that’s fueled by the community around them.
Shannon Uhlman has been a volunteer EMT on the Clatonia Rescue Squad for over 15 years.
She said the building was first built in the 1970s and ever since, they’ve been trying their best to make do with what they have.
“Our group is pretty small right now,” said Uhlman. “To be able to make sure we have enough people to go on our calls, we work really closely with the Cortland QRT team- they’re a quick response team.”
She says Cortland helps provide extra hands while Clatonia helps provide ambulances, but it’s been costly to keep up.
“We had to pay $68,000 more, just to have a cot and the apparatus that it goes into, to have that installed in the ambulance,” said Uhlman.
Tight spaces are also a problem that makes it hard for them to complete repairs and get the trucks on the road when an emergency calls.
Uhlman then showed Channel 8 the difficulties they experience when backing out the truck onto the highway in front of their building.
“When we’re backing in, we have a blind spot to the west and a bit of a hill coming from the east. So when we have traffic coming in as we are trying to back out, it becomes a dangerous situation,” she said.
So, Uhlman’s husband came up with the idea for the annual Clatonia Fire Ride.
It’s a 20-mile path open to UTV and ATV drivers of all levels.
Gage County Supervisor Emily Haxby has been a huge supporter of the fundraiser and has contributed months of planning.
She also made it her mission to garner funds by applying for federal funding.
Her efforts paid off when she received news that Clatonia was awarded the BUILD grant.
“This year it’s going to be for the fire hall. We are very, very, very fortunate with the help of Senator Fisher to receive 1.3 million dollars to help build the fire hall, but it doesn’t completely build it,” said Haxby.
They still need between $500,000 – $600,000 to complete the project.
Haxby convinced nearly two dozen landowners to contribute their land, and she shredded the path herself.
Channel 8 received a sneak peek of the route.
“We have a variety. We have everything from just a simple waterway to an open pasture, a little bit more up and down hills and then we’re going to get into some trees,” described Haxby.
“We’re literally going through tunnels of trees that have been cut out that we’ve taken a lot of time to make work. It’s really tight quarters but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Haxby says her hopes are high for Saturday’s event and even more fruitful than last year’s.
“The line of UTVs that we had probably was a mile and a half to two miles long with the amount of participants we had and we’re really hoping to break that record. We’re hoping to maybe see 200 or more,” she said.
The route will have bathrooms along the way and even a lemonade stand.
Haxby says if you are not able to register on their website, you are welcome to show up at the Clatonia Fire Hall at noon on July 10 and take part.
Later in the evening, there will be a dinner held and a local polka band will perform. You can find a list of the events here.
