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THORNTON, Texas — Thornton Volunteer Fire Department received a cost share grant through the RuralVolunteer Fire Department Assistance Program administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. The grant helpedto purchase a slip-on unit that was installed onto a truck that the department owned. “We have a lot of grass fires because our area is rural with […]

Lacy Lakeview Fire Department accepted a $43,400 cost share grant to helppurchase a chassis that the department will be transforming into a brush truck. The grant was through the RuralVolunteer Fire Department Assistance Program administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. “When complete this chassis will be a first out truck,” said Lacy Lakeview FD Chief […]

Pottsboro Fire Department acquired a new 2021 Freightliner pumper/tender thanks to a $200,000 cost share grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. A tender is a firefighting apparatus that transports water from a source to a fire scene. It has the capacity to carry 1,500 gallons of water and has a 10-inch dump […]

BRENHAM, Texas – Prairie Hill – Rocky Hill Volunteer Fire Department accepted an excess StewartStevenson military truck through the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program. They also received a$20,000 grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The department coupled thegrant with community support to purchase a slip-on unit with a 400-gallon water tank […]

DIKE, Texas -– Dike Volunteer Fire Department replaced a 1976 brush truck with a new custom-build fireapparatus thanks to a cost-share grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The truck has a 300-gallon water tank and a lot of storage area for wildland tools. “The primary mission of this new truck will be […]

This month’s map is a follow up to the shortleaf pine maps from November and depicts the prevalence of longleaf pine in East Texas. I used Forest Inventory and Analysis data to compute the percent basal area of longleaf pine, for trees 5” in diameter and above, on each plot at the last time it was measured […]

West Volunteer Fire Department accepted a $9,000 cost share grant to help purchase aspecialized washer-extractor that will help maintain their Personal Protective Gear (PPE) or turnout gear. Thegrant was awarded through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program administered by TexasA&M Forest Service. Firefighters put their own safety on the line all the time to […]

Lampasas Volunteer Fire Department added a forcible entry door to their training toolsthanks to a grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. “This new training aid will allow our department to simulate any type of door,” said Lampasas VFD Fire ChiefJeff Smith. “The difficulty of the entry can be adjusted for the type […]

Texas A&M Forest Service’s Gretchen Riley received the 2020 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Public Service in Forestry today.

Texas A&M Forest Service has been a guardian of the state’s natural resources for over 100 years, but not everyone realizes that they have a law enforcement department to help protect and serve.