“The grant [from Firehouse Subs] helps free up more money for us for other ventures because this covered half of the price for these state-of-the-art rescue tools for vehicle extraction,” Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department Chief Fred Holzberger said Wednesday at a live demonstration event at the Firehouse Subs Restaurant in Prince Frederick.

From the foundation, Holzberger’s department got extrication equipment worth $30,000 that will allow first responders to cut through materials and reach car accident victims in need of medical attention.

At the southern end of Calvert, the Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department received three Lucas fully-automated compression systems valued at nearly $35,000. The CPR devices will help first responders deliver uninterrupted chest compressions at a constant rate and depth to patients in cardiac arrest and improve the patients’ chances of survival.

Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department in St. Mary’s County received new rope rescue and vehicle stabilization equipment worth $7,300.

Before sending firefighters into potential danger on the ground, the drones will help fire officials develop a strategy.

“In particular, we have used them at fires, Hazmat incidents, accident reconstruction, brush fires, search and rescue, people lost in the water, and those types of things,” said Corpus Christi Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim DeVisser.

The department has two drones that not only provide a 360 degree aerial view of the destruction, but also have thermal imaging cameras that allow firefighters to see through smoke. And with the two additional drones they will be getting, the sky is the limit.

Garrett Fire Chief Eddie Miner stated the $100,000 grant expands the department’s capability to serve residents. Grant funds went toward the purchase of a new Ford F-550 brush truck. The vehicle is anticipated to go into service in October.

“We applied for the grant a year and a half ago. It really helps the small departments get the equipment they need in at a fraction of the cost,” Miner said. “The truck gives us more ways to respond to calls than before.”

According to the Texas Forest Service website, the Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program provides funding to rural volunteer fire departments for the acquisition of firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, computer systems, and training. The program is allotted $17.3 million to fund these requests each year.

Miner stated the vehicle replaced a 1999 Ford that was built and retrofitted by the department to be used on fire calls. The new truck was built from the ground up to go on emergency calls in Alvarado.

The board recently agreed to spend $150,000 to buy a new service/brush truck, which arrived Friday.

Assistant Chief Roy Powell said the pump and tank will allow firefighters to fight brush and grass fires. The truck will also be equipped with firefighting foam and can provide a charged line needed to use the Jaws of Life at vehicle crashes.

“This is a great addition to what we already have and it’s actually the very first new truck that the fire department has gotten since its inception,” he said.

Mount Olive Fire Protection District has served the area that covers roughly 1,000 residences from Alabama Highway 171 south to Upper Columbus Road for about 40 years.