LCRA awards $23,350 grant to Mountain Home VFD for new safety gear
New breathing equipment will provide better protection for firefighters
June 6, 2025
KERR COUNTY, Texas – The Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department soon will purchase five new sets of breathing gear, air cylinders and face masks to help firefighters stay safer in hazardous environments filled with chemicals and smoke, thanks to a $23,350 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $20,000 in matching funds from the VFD, will enable the department to replace outdated safety equipment that provides first responders clean air as they work to extinguish fires and mitigate hazardous incidents in the community.
“The air packs we currently have are 20+ years old, so we’ve been having serious issues with them,” said Brien Alexander, fire chief. “In the last two years we’ve had six packs that we were told could not be fixed, so this grant really came along at a critical time.”
The Mountain Home VFD serves over 220 square miles of rural area in western Kerr County, as well as providing mutual aid to nearby departments in Junction, Divide, Ingram, Hunt and Tierra Linda Ranch.
“In the last several months we experienced two failures of breathing apparatus that were assigned to our ‘first due’ or ‘first out’ engine,” Alexander said. “Both were caught before our volunteers entered hostile or dangerous environments, but the replacements are absolutely essential for the safety and well-being of our crew.”
The new gear will help ensure two full crews are properly equipped to fight fires safely and efficiently.
“The price of this equipment is prohibitive, and our budget would not be able to cover these,” he said. “This grant will cover the cost to replace the equipment that is no longer in service. Without the help from LCRA we wouldn’t be able to do our job, which is to protect the community.”
The community grant is one of 45 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership 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. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations.
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