Roxton, Texas—The Roxton Volunteer Fire Department recently received a grant from the Texas A&M Forest Service to purchase a new brush truck.
“The grant helped us replace an older 1995 truck. The new truck has four-wheel drive and a wildland deck gun/ monitor on the front bumper. It also carries 800 gallons of water that will be helpful fighting grass and brush fires,” Roxton VFD Fire Chief Niblett said.
Beyond helping with fires, this large brush truck will also be useful for other emergency responses, “ This truck is ten
feet tall so it will be great for high water rescues, during times of flooding.” Said Niblett
Roxton VFD has a service area of 113 square miles. There they unselfishly serve their community and give mutual aid to the surrounding area.
“The new truck will be beneficial since the department is located in a rural area and fire hydrants are scarce. The 800
gallon tank will be valuable by enabling the department to carry water to the rural areas where grass and wildfires are
common”, stated Nathan Carroll, Regional Fire Coordinator at TFS.
Over 85 percent of fire departments in the state of Texas are either completely or mostly operated by
volunteers. 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.
TFS’s programs are awesome,” Niblett said. “Volunteer fire departments wouldn’t be able to do half as much
without them. The departments certainly wouldn’t have the quality of equipment that the grants provide.”
To learn more about this program, visit http://texasfd.com.