Bluebonnet and LCRA representatives present a $25,000 grant to Martindale Fire & Rescue to purchase new extrication tools. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Grants program. Pictured, from left, are Brailey Bezio, firefighter and EMT-B; Josie Martinez, Calwell County Emergency Services District No. 3 treasurer; Philip Settepani, firefighter; Laura Sanchez Fowler, City of Martindale mayor; Korey Gebert, firefighter and EMT-B; Matt Tanksley, fire and rescue lieutenant and EMT-B; Tony Garza, firefighter and EMT-B; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA board member; Milton Shaw, Bluebonnet Director; Larry Turner, firefighter and EMT-B; Jo Anna Gilland, Bluebonnet Lockhart-area community representative; Elizabeth Ehlers, LCRA regional affairs representative; Bill Hamilton, Caldwell County ESD No. 3 president; Bill Glaze, fire & rescue president; and Joe Abatecola and Alyssa Decker, firefighters.

Martindale Fire & Rescue will soon purchase new extrication tools to help firefighters rescue patients trapped after serious vehicle collisions, building collapses or other emergencies, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The community grant, along with $8,025 in matching funds from the fire department, will provide the new equipment for a brush truck the department is purchasing with assistance from the Texas Forest Service HB2604 grant program. The new truck will be used for grass and brush fires, vehicle collisions, medical emergencies and other rescue calls.

“The grant is helping us add state-of-the-art extrication tools that make our department's new brush truck a fully equipped rescue apparatus,” said Chris Germer, fire chief of the Martindale Fire & Rescue. “These tools give us access to patients trapped in vehicles, whether a door is wedged shut, a vehicle is overturned or we have to cut parts of the car away to reach someone safely.”

The department serves a 28-square-mile area that includes Martindale and unincorporated parts of Caldwell County, including busy corridors connecting San Marcos, Houston, Luling, Lockhart, Maxwell, Redwood and Staples. Its district includes State Highway 80, Highway 142 and State Highway 130, where firefighters and EMS regularly respond to vehicle collisions and rescue calls.

Germer said the department has an older set of extrication tools, but the equipment is showing its age and is carried on a larger engine that fewer members are certified to drive. The new rescue truck will be smaller and easier for more department members to deploy.

“These battery-operated HURST tools are among the strongest and most durable extrication tools available today,” Germer said. “Vehicles are being built with stronger materials and more layers of steel, and we need equipment that can help us get to people when seconds matter. Having these tools on a smaller rescue truck means more of our firefighters can get them to the scene quickly, even in rain, rough terrain or more difficult response conditions.”

Martindale Fire & Rescue also is adding paid daytime staffing to supplement its volunteer program. Germer said the additional staffing helps ensure trained firefighters and medical personnel are available when many volunteers are at work.

“We have dedicated volunteers who continue to serve, and we’re adding certified firefighters, EMTs and paramedics during the day to strengthen our department,” Germer said. “Our goal is to make sure someone is ready to respond whenever the community needs help. We are investing in the equipment, training and personnel needed to provide professional service around the clock.”

This is one of five grants recently awarded by Bluebonnet and LCRA through LCRA’s Community Grants program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund eligible capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. Bluebonnet 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/grants.