With the help of an $18,000 grant, the Mountain Home VFD will now be able to better protect the community from fires.
The cost-share grant administered through Texas A&M Forest Service helped the fire department to purchase a new skid unit that will enhance their emergency response capabilities.
The new piece of equipment will have a 400 gallon tank and a 15 gallon foam unit. The new foam unit will help the department fight fires more efficiently. The foam produced by this system reduces the surface tension of water. Reducing the surface tension of water permits it to spread over a larger area than the same volume of plain water. It makes plain water work more efficiently for fire suppression.
“We were replacing an older model from 1995, and we are just glad TFS was able to help us out,” said Brian Alexander, Mountain Home VFD fire chief.
Limited on monetary funds and staffed primarily of volunteers, VFDs can use these grants to purchase equipment and training they would not normally be able to afford.
“VFDs are the backbone of the fire service here in Texas; it’s an asset to the community that we are able to provide resources to local departments,” said Garry Barney, TFS regional fire coordinator.
The Mountain Home VFD award is among the $12.8 million passed through TFS to Texas volunteer fire departments each year.
To learn more about this program, visit http://texasfd.com.