LCRA, PEC Award $25,000 Grant for Fire Department Emergency Equipment


LCRA and PEC representatives present a $25,000 grant to the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department for new emergency equipment. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Steve Dyer, LCRA Governmental and Regional Affairs representative; George W. Russell, LCRA Board member; Dewey Owen, Kempner Volunteer Fire Department chief; Celeste Mikeska, Pedernales Electric Cooperative community engagement representative; Lori A. Berger, LCRA Board member; and Martha Leigh M. Whitten, LCRA Board member.

The Kempner Volunteer Fire Department will purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) refill equipment thanks to a $25,000 community development grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative.

The grant, along with $16,680 in local matching funds, will allow firefighters to more quickly refill the tanks they need to protect their lungs while battling a blaze.

The refill equipment will allow the department to better protect the safety of both its firefighters and the general public, said Kempner VFD Chief Dewey Owen. Currently, the department has to take empty SCBA tanks to another town to get refilled. The process can take four hours or more and pulls two firefighters and one department vehicle away from the station.

“Our firefighters need these tanks any time there is a house fire or other situation where there is a dangerous environment for our lungs,” Owen said. “If we ever had two house fires back-to-back, we would probably deplete the air in our tanks. We’d still go fight that second house fire, but we would not be able to get in there and fight it as aggressively.”

To date, the department has not faced two structure fires so close in time that firefighters did not have a chance to refill the SCBA tanks. However, the growing population makes the need for the department to get the refill equipment more urgent, Owen said.

Kempner VFD offers fire protection to 108 square miles in southeastern Lampasas County. About 10,500 people live and work in the area, and the nearby cities of Lampasas and Copperas Cove continue to grow.

The community grant is one of a number of grants recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. The program provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants are due July 31. More information is available at
lcra.org/cdpp.

About LCRA
​The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; ensuring a clean, reliable water supply; and offering access to nature at more than 40​ parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Texas Colorado River, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to enhancing the lives of Texans through water stewardship, energy and community services. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934. For more information, visit
lcra.org.

Media Contact
Clara Tuma
512–578–3292
clara.tuma@lcra.org


Source: LCRA Business News

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