How to resolve AdBlock issue? KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A combination of gratitude and generosity led a local woman to make a large donation to the Kelseyville Fire Protection District’s effort to purchase new rescue equipment.
Jan Thompson, who lives in the Riviera West area of Kelseyville, has donated $10,000 to help complete the purchase of a new all-terrain vehicle that will assist with accessing areas that other district equipment can’t reach.
“We were right at $13,000, and she put us right over the top,” Kelseyville Fire Chief Mike Stone said of Thompson’s donation.
Thompson was visiting downtown to run errands earlier this month, and while at WestAmerica Bank across the street spotted the colorful fundraising sign – a thermometer painted by students with the Kelseyville High School art department – in front of the firehouse.
Stone said the department had been raising funds for about six months in order to purchase a Polaris six-wheel ATV to assist with rescue operations on Mt. Konocti – where a 1,500-acre county owned park is located – since the district’s ambulances aren’t four-wheel drive.
The district’s goal, however, isn’t just to use the vehicle in its boundaries, but to make it widely available to other agencies for rescues in remote parts of Lake County, Stone said.
By the start of this month, the department had raised $13,000 of the $23,000 needed to purchase the vehicle and fully outfit it with lights, radios, helmets and other necessary fire equipment. A trailer for it also is needed, according to Stone.
Most of the donations came from individuals and organizations, including $3,200 from Homestake Mining Co., $6,000 that was donated through the District Attorney’s Office Alternative to Community Service program and $500 from Bottle Rock Power LLC, according to a list of donations the agency provided.
Stone said the fire district also had a pancake breakfast at the Kelseyville Pear Festival in September, raising just over $1,900.
Kelseyville Fire was preparing for a push to raise the rest of the funds in order to purchase the ATV by springtime, before more hiking and park activities resumed, Stone said.
That’s when Thompson saw the thermometer fundraising sign.
“I was curious as to what they were raising money for,” she said.
So she called and asked, and they told her about the ATV. She asked if the money donated would stay with Kelseyville Fire, with agency officials ensuring her that the money stayed with them, but the vehicle could be loaned out when needed.
“It was important to me that it stay in Kelseyville,” she said.
Thompson then arranged to visit the firehouse. She sat down with district staff and asked how much they needed if they were to buy the fully equipped ATV the next day.
They told her $10,000. When Thompson said she would give that amount, she said they didn’t seem to believe her at first. Then she wrote the $10,000 check.
Stone, who wasn’t in on the meeting, had left early for the day and said he got a phone call from staff. They asked if he was sitting down.
At that point, he said he was expecting bad news, not the news of the unexpected gift.
Stone said they immediately ordered the ATV, which is set to arrive this week.
Thompson, a retired teacher who has lived in Lake County full-time since 1974 – and whose family had a vacation home here 15 years before that – explained that the fire department has always been there for her and her family.
Around 1995, she became seriously ill with meningitis, and it was Kelseyville Fire that came to the rescue. She said it took her years to fight back from the disease’s crippling effects.
“The fire department saved me, there’s no doubt about it,” said Thompson.
The district also was there when her elderly parents needed medical assistance, and Thompson has an additional soft spot for firefighters since her brother was one.
Stone said Thompson will get to take the new ATV for a spin, in honor of her generosity.
Thompson said she wished she had known earlier that they needed the funds.
But if Thompson and others want to continue to help the district, they’ll get the chance: Stone said the district is going to hold an ongoing, active fundraising campaign.
“There’s always going to be something that’s needed,” he said.
Besides having the new Mt. Konocti County Park in its jurisdiction, the district serves a 90- square mile area that includes one of the county’s most populated areas as well as extensive wildland. Last week’s Becks Fire on the side of Mt. Konocti was within the district.
For community members who want to make a donation to help the district in acquiring its new equipment, they can all Kelseyville Fire at 707-279-4268 or visit the district’s Chip In account at http://kelseyvillefirevolunteers.chipin.com/purchase-of-an-all-terrain-rescue-vehicle .
The account is for general needs, although it is named for the ATV fundraiser; it had been set up and ready for launch when Thompson made her donation.
The district now is beginning to raise funds for other major equipment purchases, including a new ambulance and, later, a new engine, Stone said.
For that effort, said Stone, “We’re going to need a bigger thermometer.”
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