A $20,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help the Tanglewood Volunteer Fire Department purchase a rescue truck to transport life-saving equipment to emergency scenes. 

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $5,000 in matching funds from the Tanglewood VFD, will help replace the fire department’s current rescue truck, which has been out of service for six months due to mechanical issues. 

“Our current truck has caused a lot of hassle and has made our work more stressful,” said Guy Hall III, first assistant chief. “The mechanic has come out at least three times to repair faulty parts. He’ll fix one thing but then something else malfunctions.”

The Tanglewood VFD uses the rescue truck to transport equipment such as the Jaws of Life and an automated external defibrillator to emergency scenes. When the truck is unavailable, the department has to leave some of the rescue equipment behind because the department’s brush trucks and fire engine don’t have enough room to carry it.
  
“We have to constantly switch out equipment on our trucks, which takes a lot of time to prepare when we get a call,” Hall said. “We won’t have to switch out equipment at the last minute if we get a new rescue truck.”

In addition to serving the Lexington community, the volunteer fire department serves growing communities in Lee County and southern Milam County. 

The community grant is one of 27 grants awarded recently 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. 

A $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help the Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department purchase an emergency generator.

The grant will be paired with $36,802 in matching funds from the Chappell Hill VFD to purchase a generator to help provide uninterrupted fire protection and emergency services even during natural disasters or regional power outages.

“A generator will make us better prepared for emergencies such as evacuations or power outages, especially since our area is experiencing rapid growth,” said Marcy Kmiec, vice president of the Chappell Hill fire department. “This generator will not only help our department, but also will benefit our community by reducing our response times during emergency rescues.”

Chappell Hill VFD serves a population of 35,500 in Washington County and provides back-up response for all other volunteer fire departments within the county and in the western part of Waller County. The department also serves the U.S. Highway 290 corridor, a major evacuation route from Houston and Galveston during regional disasters.

“We’re a nonprofit, and because of COVID-19, we’ve missed out on our normal fundraising efforts that keep us operating,” Kmiec said. “The grant from LCRA and Bluebonnet is greatly appreciated, and we’re very pleased and honored for their support.”

The community grant is one of 27 grants awarded recently 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.