Texas A&M Forest Service recently awarded a grant to Wolfe City Volunteer Fire Department for the purchase of a new tender. The funding was through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
A tender is a specialized firefighting apparatus designed for transporting water from a water source to a fire scene.
“We will be using the new tender as a multipurpose vehicle but the most valuable asset is that we can now transport water safely with a vehicle that was built for that specific purpose,” said Wolfe City VFD Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Deary. “It will be safer for the firefighters and the public.”
The new 2017 water tender can carry 2,000-gallons of water, has a portable drop tank designed to hold water to assist with the firefighting efforts, LED scene lighting on the back and sides and storage space for tools.
The department has been serving the people in their community and surrounding area since 1865 and have always looked for ways to improve their service.
According to Dreary, Wolfe City has fire hydrants available but the department covers a lot of rural area where there isn’t access to water. Receiving grant funding is critical to being able to protect those areas. The grant programs through Texas A&M Forest Service are vital to the survival of all the VFDs. Without these programs the departments wouldn’t be able to buy the equipment needed to protect their communities.
“This grant award gives us the capacity to respond to not only fires in our primary fire district but also allows us to respond as mutual aid to surrounding districts,” said Deary.
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 Texas State Legislature and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides funding to rural VFDs for the 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.