A $19,583 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority will help Martindale Volunteer Fire and Rescue purchase a utility terrain vehicle to assist with river rescues and patient transports.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $4,896 in matching funds, will provide the department with a reliable rescue vehicle to access areas along the San Marcos River that are hard to reach with standard firetrucks or brush trucks.

“We’re in great need of this type of river rescue UTV, and it will be another great asset for our department,” said Bill Glaze, board president of Martindale Volunteer Fire and Rescue. “We spend about 45 days or more by the river during floating season.”

With about 15 full-time volunteers, Martindale Volunteer Fire and Rescue, formerly known as the Martindale Volunteer Fire Department Company, serves a population of more than 1,270.

The San Marcos River runs alongside the City of Martindale and attracts up to 10,000 visitors per weekend during spring and summer. Martindale Fire has seen an increase over the last three years in river-related calls.   

“We use an inflatable boat to rescue people from the river, but the UTV will be used to transport physically injured persons by land to an awaiting ambulance,” Glaze said. “The hardest thing about not having this type of vehicle is first responders can’t get close to the river bottom for rescues. Their brush trucks won’t make it that close and that means patients have to be carried up from the riverbanks to an ambulance by hand.”
 
Glaze said the bed of the UTV will have room for a stretcher and a medical technician who will ride in the back during patient transports. The vehicle also has ample storage for medical equipment such as water rescue gear and automated external defibrillators.

“This grant has been a real blessing to us for sure and we appreciate LCRA,” he said. “Although we won’t get the truck until after the floating season begins, everyone is very excited about it and we’ll put it to work immediately.”

The community grant is one of seven grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
 
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

A $16,499 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help the Beaver Creek Volunteer Fire Department purchase new emergency gear for its firefighters.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $4,123 in matching funds, will allow the department to replace aging self-contained breathing apparatus units and purchase portable 5-gallon poly fire tanks that hold water to aid in fighting grass or brush fires. The grant also will help purchase fire-resistant hoods to protect firefighters during emergencies and pagers to quickly notify first responders of an emergency call.

“We’re in desperate need of new equipment to protect our firefighters, especially the self-contained breathing apparatus,” Fire Chief Joseph Walden said. “Donations have slowed down and we are unable to make these purchases on our own.”

Walden said 80 percent of the department’s calls are brush or grass fires.

“The poly fire tanks will help us get closer to fires — beyond where a firetruck can take us, and the fire-resistant hoods will protect a firefighter’s head, neck and face from a fire,” he said.

Beaver Creek VFD supports a community of about 1,500 in Beaver Creek and an additional 10,000 in surrounding areas.

“The population is increasing,” Walden said. “I see more mobile homes moving into the community and that means more people, more calls, more emergencies and the need for more equipment.”

New pagers will replace a phone tree system to notify firefighters of calls more quickly.

“It’s a more effective and reliable way to communicate,” Walden said.

The community grant is one of seven grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
 
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.