Just in time for its annual open house, the Ocean Shores Fire Department learned it had “won the lottery.”

That was the way Chief David Bathke described the new fire engine the department will be able to purchase through the announcement of a $511,000 federal grant that will pay most of the cost for the much-needed equipment.

The grant comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Bathke credited the city’s grant writer Sarah Bisson, as well as Fire Lt. Joe Hoffman for putting together the application in January.

The city first has to put the engine out for bid, which Bathke said will be done in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s got to be built,” he said, noting it could be until next September before the process is completed.

Bathke noted he previously had been an evaluator for the FEMA grant process, so he was familiar with what criteria had to be met for Ocean Shores to qualify.

“We met the need, and part of our financial needs was that we had just had (another federal) SAFER grant for seven personnel that we elected to keep,” Bathke said.

Because the city had to fund the added firefighters after the two-year grant period ended, the city didn’t have the money to buy a much-needed new engine on its own, the chief said.

Bathke called it a “a start,” noting the new engine replaces one that is 39 years old.

“We still have a 27-year-old engine that needs to be replaced,” he said during the department’s open house on Oct. 11. “We will work on putting some money aside for that. We know we need to start working on capital replacements. But the city has come through financial bad times, and we’re looking at that now getting better. So we can start planning so we’re not in this pickle again.”

The city will have a cost to pay to meet its part of the matching requirements and for equipment. There is a $150,000 item in the mayor’s proposed budget for the next two years.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Bathke said about the overall status of the department. “We’re making the guys safer and we are getting compliant equipment.”

As part of the open house festivities, the public toured the fire station, and watched a live demonstration of Jaws of Life rescue and response to a car fire, as well as demonstrations of drone technology and how a fire hose works for the young firefighters on hand.

Angelo Bruscas/North Coast News: Fire Marshal Curt Begley demonstrates a drone that could be used for rescues in the surf, during the Open House last week.

Angelo Bruscas/North Coast News: Fire Marshal Curt Begley demonstrates a drone that could be used for rescues in the surf, during the Open House last week.

Angelo Bruscas/North Coast News: Fire Marshal Curt Begley demonstrates a drone that could be used for rescues in the surf, during the Open House last week.