LCRA, Bandera Electric Co-op award $25,000 grant to Bandera Fire and Rescue

Updated safety gear will provide local first responders with new respirators, air packs

Nov. 25, 2025

LCRA and Bandera Electric Cooperative representatives present a $25,000 grant to Bandera Fire and Rescue for new safety gear. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Grants program. Pictured, from left to right, are: James Custer, VFD firefighter; Ben Contet, VFD firefighter and paramedic; Frenchy Contet, VFD training coordinator and EMT-B; Matt Mydland, VFD firefighter and EMT-B; Hannah Culak, BEC marketing design specialist; Callie Cargile, BEC marketing specialist; Charity Huber, BEC marketing and communications director; Jeffery “Jeff” Slocum, BEC director, District 3; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA Board member; Brad Cummings Jr., VFD fire chief; Ellen Cummings, VFD president; Shane Daniel, Cody Burns and Josh Tolbert, VFD firefighters, Tiffany Contet, VFD grant writer; Brad Cummings Sr., VFD firefighter; and John Palacio, LCRA Regional Affairs representative.
BANDERA, Texas – Bandera Fire and Rescue soon will be able to purchase new respirators, masks and air cylinders to help protect first responders as they respond to hazardous situations, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bandera Electric Cooperative.

The community grant, along with $8,891 in matching funds from the VFD, will provide new self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBAs, so firefighters have a reliable air supply as they respond to fires and other emergencies.

The grant comes at a critical time, as Bandera Fire and Rescue’s current respirators are no longer approved for use and were discontinued last year, so parts, service, replacements and certifications are no longer available.

“We desperately need this new equipment, because even the SCBAs of our surrounding departments are different sizes than the ones we currently have, so we’re not able to use their equipment at a large fire if we needed to,” said Brad Cummings, fire chief. “That’s very limiting to our department. It prevents us from being able to provide the most effective fire and rescue operations.”

As a volunteer department, Bandera Fire and Rescue relies heavily on grants for equipment critical to helping protect the community.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but because of this grant we’re going to be able to replace one truck’s worth of SCBAs,” Cummings said.

Bandera Fire and Rescue is a volunteer fire department that serves the City of Bandera and surrounding communities in Bandera County.

This is one of 41 grants awarded recently through LCRA Community Grants. These grants are awarded twice a year as part of LCRA’s effort to give back to communities in its wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. Bandera Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the Community Grants program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

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.

Contact Info

Clara Tuma, Public Information Officer
512-578-3292
[email protected]
After hours: 512-944-6719