VIDEO: $300,000 are in the bank for the Elm Mott Volunteer Fire Department after earning their largest grant in history. This is part of a new grant program started by the Texas Forest Service that is giving volunteer departments across the state a piece of the $192 million pie.
โThey have grants that are for equipment and we actually got $300,000 for that,โ says Chief Chris Pechacek with the Elm Mott VFD. Elm Mott VFD is one of dozens of small town volunteer departments that got a monumental amount of grant money.
For Elm Mott it will help them with bigger expenses like getting a new engine. โThe new engine can hold up to 3,000 gallons of water and helps transport water to rural areas like where we are,โ Pechacek says.
The grant funding started by the state after the historic $192 million was approved during the legislative session. Which is profound for departments made up of a only a handful of people who do this for free, but the costs to operate as they should isnโt.
โIt will ensure a quicker response time, better equipment and much needed training for whatever our crews may face,โ Pechacek explains. This funding is the largest one-time grant this volunteer department has ever seen.
