12/13/2025
Grant boosts local firefighter training
By Ben Cox
The Source Newspaper
Photo/Ben Cox
The Jacksonville Fire Department is enhancing its rescue training capabilities thanks to new funding from the Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau’s Agriculture and Rural Fire Protection Grant program.
The grant will allow the department to purchase lifelike training dummies—equipment firefighters say will significantly strengthen their preparedness for everything from home rescues to technical emergency scenarios.
JFD firefighter and hoseman Sean Taylor, who led the grant effort with support from JFD Captain Mike Hopper, said the idea came unexpectedly during the Morgan County Fair. While helping with the department’s fire safety house, Taylor struck up a conversation with a Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau representative.
“[The representative] asked, ‘What do you guys need?’” Taylor said. “I joked that I’d love some new training dummies. He looked at me and said, ‘Let’s make it happen.’”
That interaction sparked research and collaboration with Morgan County Office of Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty and JFD Chief Matt Summers, which ultimately resulted in the successful grant application.
Training needs rooted in data
Taylor said his push for better equipment grew from reviewing national rescue data, including findings from the “First 4,000 Rescue Project,” which analyzes thousands of fire rescues to identify where victims are most often found and which tactics work best.
“The data shows a huge number of victims are found in bedrooms,” Taylor said. “So we need to train like we’re really going to rescue people, in the places they’re actually found, with equipment that’s realistic.”
The department’s current training mannequins, he explained, are too rigid and too unlike actual human bodies. The new dummies, modeled after those used at the Illinois Fire Service Institute where Taylor teaches, are articulated and closely mimic the weight and movement of real victims. That difference, he said, could improve outcomes in real emergencies.
“We serve the community best when our training is as lifelike as possible,” Taylor said. “These dummies will let us do that.”
A community impact beyond one department
Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau President Doug Coop said the small equipment grant program, now in its fifth year, aims to support rural emergency response across both counties.
“We’ve been able to give about $40,000 overall,” Coop said. “Every department in Cass and Morgan does rural response, even Jacksonville. Rural is one mile down the road for Jacksonville.” The grant, he said, further strengthens the region’s emergency readiness.
Taylor said the fire department intends to share its good fortune. Jacksonville will donate its older training dummies to the Woodson Fire Department, and is also planning opportunities for surrounding volunteer departments to train with the new equipment.
“It comes full circle,” Taylor said. “We get better tools, and we can help our neighbors get better, too.”
With the new dummies expected to expand training for EMS, technical rescue, rope rescue, collapse response and more, Taylor said the department is eager to put them to use.
“We always want to be better at what we do,” he said. “The community trusts us with their lives. This grant helps us honor that trust.”
