91-Year-Old Man Rescues Struggling Fire Department with $500,000 Donation

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I knew at this point in my life, I could help," said the local resident

A fire department in Missouri will be able to continue helping the community thanks to a $500,000 donation from a 91-year-old man.

According to The Washington Post, Sam Sloan, a retired cattle business owner, lives two miles away from the Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department, which received his generous gift in April.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I knew at this point in my life, I could help. It’s important to have a good fire department, especially with all the grass we have around here,” Sloan told the newspaper.

The selfless act is something that has been "several years" in the making for Sloan, who has lived in Henry County since 1960, per KMBC-TV.

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Unbeknownst to Sloan, however, was how much the volunteer fire department was in need of funds.

According to NBC News, the department's bank account only had $169 left at the end of this year's first quarter. Mark Hardin, who took over as fire chief in 2021, told the outlet that they were able to get by with donations from other fire departments.

Sloan got acquainted with Hardin after he invited him to breakfast and asked him "a lot of questions about the fire department."

After going out for breakfast two times together, Sloan invited Hardin to his home to surprise him with the donation.

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"There were cinnamon rolls and doughnuts on the table, and his bookkeeper was there. ... His wife was there. Never had never talked to the man before in my life, and three weeks later, he hands me a check for half a million dollars," Hardin told NBC News.

The Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that they received Sloan's gift in a Facebook post on Monday, May 6.

"We here at Calhoun FD would like to extend our gratitude to the Sloan family. Sam and Jan recently donated $500,000.00 to our department, this money will be used to put each of our volunteers in personal protective equipment head to toe. We will also be replacing 3 apparatuses as well as purchasing other miscellaneous equipment," the post read.

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According to The Washington Post, the volunteer fire department had spent most of its $4,800 budget for the year on equipment repairs for two firetrucks before receiving Sloan's gift.

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“Sam wants us to get the works: new boots, helmets, pants, gloves, everything from head to toe,” Hardin told the newspaper. “We’ll just about have the $500,000 spent, but that’s what Sam wanted, and that’s what we’re going to do."

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