Punkin-Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department increased their rescue and firefighting capabilities with a $14,777 grant provided by Texas A&M Forest Service through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The department used the grant to purchase new rescue equipment such as a thermal imaging camera, a hydraulic compressor, Jaws of Life, swift water rescue gear, and more.
Texas A&M Forest Service Resource Specialist Jason Calvet said the equipment is a huge benefit to the department, their community and surrounding area.
"The jaws unit is replacing an old 1994 unit," Punkin-Evergreen VFD Chief Rick Stevens said. "Highway 150 is our main source of accidents because it gets a lot of traffic. We also mutual aid with other departments for 18-wheeler accidents."
The new Jaws of Life has already been used four times since being put into service.
Chief Stevens is glad to have these increased capabilities for his department. "We have responded to a variety of critical calls in our community including swift water rescue, aircraft crash, fires and vehicle accidents," Chief Stevens said. "In 2017 the Boy Scouts of America will be opening a 4,000-acre camp with a large lake in our service area. We want to be prepared with training and equipment, should the need arise."