AUSTIN COUNTY, Texas – A $30,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help the Industry Volunteer Fire Department purchase two much-needed pieces of equipment: new and improved hydraulic rescue tools to extract crash victims from vehicles and new protective gear for firefighters.

The grant will be paired with matching funds of $12,874 from the Industry VFD, which serves approximately 2,000 people in northwest Austin County. The department’s 54.5-square-mile service area includes Industry, a farming community situated about halfway between Austin and Houston.

Michael Drab, vice president of the Industry VFD board, said the department has been using an old set of extraction tools that sometimes aren’t effective on the stronger materials used in newer cars and trucks. On occasion, Industry VFD first responders have had to request aid at crash scenes from other departments, he said.

“With these new tools, we’ll be able to extract someone from a vehicle more safely and more quickly,” Drab said. “We’re very grateful to receive this grant from LCRA and Bluebonnet. At the end of the day, it’s going to help us to better serve the community.”

The two additional self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) will supply oxygen, filter out carbon dioxide and keep firefighters from inhaling noxious fumes during emergencies, he said.

“We don’t want to be putting firefighters’ health at risk,” Drab said. “By adding additional SCBAs, we can protect more firefighters when we’re at scenes and allow them to be better equipped for rescue and fire suppression duties.”

The community grant is one of 28 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water 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 a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted July 1-31. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

LEE COUNTY, Texas – The Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department will soon be able to refill firefighter air tanks and bottles at the department rather than sending them out of town to be replenished, thanks to a $19,893 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. 

This grant, combined with $4,973 in matching funds from the department, will enable the department to purchase and install the new self-contained breathing apparatus refill station to help ensure volunteer firefighters have access to clean, safe air while responding to emergencies. 

“Without our own system, we have to go to the Giddings Fire Department 12 miles away and fill up our large tanks there,” said Spencer Schneider, fire department chief. “When filled, it takes two people to lift them, and we have to transport them on the back of a truck. We have to do this on a regular basis.”

In addition to the improved efficiency of having a system in-house, the Lincoln VFD will be able to refill air bottles for nearby departments free of charge. 

“We are no better than any other department, but we are proud of the fact that we are in the center of the county, and with our experience and equipment, we are able to support other fire departments in our area,” Schneider said. “If it wasn’t for this grant, we wouldn’t have this opportunity.”

He said he and the volunteers in his department are dedicated to giving back to their community. 

“People from all over our county have been very good to us,” Schneider said. “Community fundraisers and grants like these help our volunteer department survive. We are very, very humbled that LCRA and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative would grant us this.”

The community grant is one of 28 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water 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 a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted July 1-31. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

Bluebonnet celebrated several milestones in 2019. In addition to its 80th anniversary and surpassing 100,000 meters and 10,000 followers on Facebook, the cooperative added its 1,000th renewable energy member in November. 

Pandiyan Kaliyamoorthy of Austin, center, received a cooler full of goodies, including a solar-powered portable battery pack, from Bluebonnet’s Brittany Hardy, a member service representative, and Wesley Brinkmeyer, manager of energy services. Another milestone this year: The capacity of Bluebonnet members’ renewable power is expected to exceed 10 megawatts early this year.

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