SPRINGTOWN, Texas — A $36,000 grant from Texas A&M Forest Service enabled Aledo Volunteer
Fire Department to replace an antiquated skid unit on an older truck that was not in good repair.
“Aledo is a rural VFD, but it has a pretty big response area,” Regional Fire Coordinator Keith Vaughan
said. “They are also currently in an emergency service district. This new unit will help them do what
they do much more efficiently.”
The new slip-on unit has several capabilities previously not available to Aledo VFD, according to Fire.
Chief Steven Watson.
“We’ve wanted to upgrade to having CAFS (compressed air foam system) capabilities, but we didn’t
really have the funding mechanism to make that happen,” Watson said. “We have increasing
wildland and urban interface so it was important to get a truck with this capability for that
increasing threat.”
The VFD found the grant program beneficial for not only acquiring the new slip-on unit but also for
PPE grants in the past.
“Budgets are tight for areas like ours with so much growth happening,” Watson said. “When we
have a grant program, it frees up our funding to focus on other departmental needs such as staffing.
It’s an essential part of our capability to deliver good fire protection to our district.”
TFS passes approximately $12.8 million along to volunteer fire departments across the state every
year, helping them purchase equipment to better protect lives and property.
To learn more about this program, visit http://texasfd.com.