A $12,619 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority was presented yesterday and will help the Brownwood Fire Department buy a set of rescue jacks to lift and stabilize wrecked vehicles, making the scene safer for first responders and helping rescuers reach accident victims more quickly.
Along with a matching contribution of $3,155 from the department, the Community Development Partnership Program grant will allow the department to equip a rescue truck it is building with the specialized jacks. The vehicle, which is expected to be in operation by this summer, will respond to motor vehicle accidents in Brownwood and Brown County. The dual-use truck will carry extraction tools and be available for fighting fires.
“This is another kind of tool in the toolbox,” Brownwood Fire Chief Eric Hicks said of the new equipment. “These jacks are used to lift vehicles off people and lift cars off other cars. They also can stabilize a vehicle that has rolled over or in some other type of precarious situation.”
LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said he has no doubt the new tools will help firefighters get to victims more quickly in difficult rescue situations.
“These new rescue jacks will help save lives and protect first responders who sometimes risk their own lives to offer aid,” Wilson said. “That’s a win-win, and LCRA is gratified to help the department bring this equipment to its new rescue truck. First responders such as those in Brownwood respond at all hours of the day, in all kinds of weather, to all kinds of emergencies. When help is needed, they go, and they deserve excellent equipment, as well as our thanks and our support.”
Nearly half of Brown County’s estimated 38,192 residents live in Brownwood, which is crisscrossed by three U.S. highways. Accidents on those high-speed roadways often require an emergency response by the 35-member fire department.
“We’ve been working on this rescue truck project for about a year,” Hicks said. “We’re about there now. LCRA’s been a great partner to work with and we’re very pleased to get this grant. It’s really going to help us out with a piece of equipment that was really needed.”
The community grant is one of 36 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.
IN THE PHOTO: LCRA representatives present a $12,619 grant to the Brownwood Fire Department for new rescue equipment. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: James LeMond, assistant fire chief; Jody Horton, assistant fire chief; Kevin Barclift, captain; Carol Freeman, LCRA Board member; Eric Hicks, fire chief; Phil Wilson, LCRA general manager; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA Board member; Cooper Hogg, LCRA Regional Affairs representative; and Fisher Reynolds, LCRA chief of staff.