BOLING, Texas – Boling Volunteer Fire Department received a $200,000 grant from Texas A&M Forest Service to help
purchase a new large brush truck through the 2604 Rural VFD Assistance Program.
Previously, the department had to rely heavily on mutual aid to service the fires in its district.
“There were no large brush trucks in our county that could help us,” Fire Chief Leon Sanchez said. “We had a small brush truck, but it was not adequate for the types of fires we were responding to. We needed another brush truck in our area.”
The department retired a 1972 pumper after receiving the grant for the new brush truck, according to Sanchez.
“Parts [for the old pumper] were getting hard to find when it was requiring maintenance,” Sanchez said. “This new truck
can go into brush areas, something the old pumper could not do without tearing up the truck. It also has more water
capacity,y so we won’t have to go back and forth as much.”
Having the first and only large brush truck in this area, will greatly help this department as well as neighboring VFDs when providing mutual aid, according to Regional Fire Coordinator Jeremy Wagner.
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.