Scuttlebutt 2/20

Inaugural CHEMTREC HELP Awards Announced

CHEMTREC and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) selected the Prairie View, TX, Volunteer Firefighting Association and the Willow Grove Fire Company in Pittsgrove, NJ, as the recipients of the 2019 CHEMTREC HELP (Hazmat Emergencies Local Preparedness) Award. Each department received $7,500 to bolster their hazardous materials incident response capabilities and to increase local readiness for hazmat events. Award presentations were held at both departments.

“We are thrilled to partner with CHEMTREC to launch the HELP Award,” said NVFC Chair Steve Hirsch. “This program will enable more volunteer fire departments to get the training, resources and equipment they need to be fully prepared to respond to hazmat incidents. We received an overwhelming response to the inaugural awards, demonstrating the great need for this type of assistance. We thank CHEMTREC for their commitment to supporting the volunteer fire service.”

To be eligible to apply, departments had to be all or mostly volunteer, serve a population of no more than 25,000, be located in the United States, be a member of the NVFC and demonstrate a need for the award. The next HELP Award application period will open in the summer of 2020.

The Prairie View Volunteer Firefighting Association serves a rural community of approximately 8,000 along and Prairie View A&M University, which has about 10,000 students. The campus contains agricultural, architectural and engineering facilities, in addition to a science lab and medical equipment. Also located within the community is a commercial oil and gas facility that stores and utilizes hazardous materials. A major railroad and a U.S. highway corridor run through Prairie View, with hazardous materials vehicles utilizing both modes of transportation.

Award presentations were held at both departments.

The department will use the HELP Award to purchase needed hazmat response equipment and PPE as well as provide critical training to their firefighters.

“Having this hazmat equipment and training will enhance our hazmat capabilities immensely to protect the citizens of Prairie View, Waller County, the students of Prairie View A&M University and our first responders,” said Assistant Fire Chief Vedron Bordeaux.

The Willow Grove Fire Company serves a mostly rural community with 11,000 year-round residents along with educational and recreation facilities that bring in more people. The area served by the department includes commercial and agricultural businesses as well as highways, railroad and agricultural aviation, which increases the likelihood of hazardous materials incidents.

They will use the grant to obtain four incident command system cases to enable the incident commander to properly track the responders and resources that will operate on scene as well as establish command earlier in the incident.

“This newer equipment will allow our personnel to work effectively in keeping the community and environment safe for years to come,” Chief Tim O’Donnell said.

For more information, visit chemtrec.com or nvfc.org.

Swimmers Support Richmond Fire Department

Since its beginnings 150 years ago, The Virginia Home has been a progressive, thriving community–a private, nonprofit 130-bed home that provides nursing, therapeutic and residential care for adult Virginians who have irreversible physical disabilities.

On the first Friday of December for the past 22 years, residents of The Virginia Home stir up quite a crowd around the facility's therapeutic pool, as dozens of swimmers take to the water to raise money for charity. The annual event, known as The Aquathon, has raised more than $133,000 for nonprofits since its inception in 1998.

Participants have 30 minutes to swim as many lengths of the pool as they can with or without floatation devices. Swimmers who are in excellent condition can complete between 50 and 75 lengths; conversely, some swimmers work tirelessly to complete two or three lengths.

Richmond, VA, Fire Department firefighters attended the event in support of the swimmers who have physical disabilities.

This year’s beneficiary was the Richmond, VA, Fire Department (RFD) Foundation. Many Richmond firefighters attended the event in support of the swimmers with physical disabilities.

According to its Facebook page, the vision of the RFD Foundation is “that every member will have the support of our fire family, comprised of both friends and co-workers for financial and emotional support in a time of need. We will always be open-minded and nonjudgmental in our decisions while keeping an eye to the future. We will remain mindful of how we can best help others through their difficult times and challenges as we come together as a fire community and as a fire family within the Richmond Fire Department. Our long-term vision remains focused on our first mission, helping fire family members during catastrophic injury, illness or death while in the line of duty, while striving to improve our support network by offering more services such as counseling, disability help and benevolence.”

All donations that are raised online will be given directly to the Richmond Fire Department Foundation by The Virginia Home.

To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/the-virginia-home-aquathon-2019.