Texas A&M Forest Service awarded a $200,000 grant to Turtle Creek Volunteer Fire Department through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The grant was used to purchase a new tender, a first for the department.
“Our previous tender only had the option of 1,800 gallons of water and that didn’t last very long when fighting a structure or wildland fire. We would end up having to call for mutual aid pretty quickly,” said Turtle Creek VFD Chief Wesley Gordon.
The new tender, also known as a tanker in some regions, carries 3,500 gallons of water.
“This is a huge improvement to our department because of the amount of water that we are now able to carry to the scene of a fire,” said Gordon.
“We have just a few fire hydrants in our area and we used to have to draft water from the river or streams when we ran low,” Gordon explained. “The 3,500 gallons we can now carry gives us an advantage over the fire.”
The tender will not just be used for structure and wildland fires, but also for medical calls and traffic control, according to Gordon.
Turtle Creek VFD, established in 1977, serves a population of approximately 2,500 people over 90 square miles in Kerr County.
Texas A&M Forest Service is committed to protecting lives and property through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, a cost-share program funded by the Texas State Legislature and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides funding to rural VFDs for acquisition of firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, computer systems and firefighter training.
For more information on programs offered by Texas A&M Forest Service, please visit http://texasfd.com.