Just in time for Fire Prevention Week October 6-12, State Farm^® and the National Volunteer Fire Council have announced $1 million in grants to local volunteer fire departments. Through the State Farm Good Neighbor Firefighter Safety Program, 100 departments will each receive a $10,000 grant to obtain critical equipment that will help increase their responders’ safety, effectiveness, and ability to serve their community.

This is the inaugural year for the State Farm Good Neighbor Firefighter Safety Program. The program is designed to provide assistance to volunteer fire departments with limited budgets who struggle to find funding for the equipment they need. The response to the program was overwhelming and the need was so great that State Farm doubled its initial commitment of 50 grants to help even more volunteer fire departments.

“We are grateful to State Farm for stepping up and providing this critical assistance to volunteer fire departments,” said NVFC Chair Steve Hirsch. “Many of our nation’s fire departments operate on shoe-string budgets and struggle to fund the equipment and resources they need. We are proud to collaborate with State Farm to get funding to local departments so they can be better prepared to serve their communities and protect their responders.”

“At State Farm part of our mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life. We are committed to helping build safer, stronger, better educated communities,” said Apsara Sorensen, State Farm corporate responsibility assistant vice president. “We are proud to support the safety of volunteer firefighters – the ultimate good neighbors who risk their lives each and every day.”

In the first year of the program, grant applications were limited to 500. Departments had to be at least 50% volunteer, located in the U.S., serve a population of 25,000 or less, have revenue not to exceed $250,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year, and the applicant or chief had to be a member of the NVFC. State Farm provided complimentary memberships to all applicants to ensure they would meet that criteria and gain access to all NVFC benefits, including free training, the First Responder Helpline, and much more.

Volunteer fire departments play a critical role in the protection of communities across the country, especially small towns and rural areas. Over 65% of all firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers, devoting their time and risking their safety to help their neighbors in need. The grants will go to purchase equipment that will enhance safety, communications and operations for these local departments.

View the list of recipients here. State Farm and the NVFC will join 10 of the winners for a local open house or fire prevention education event throughout the fall. Learn more about the program and these events at www.nvfc.org/statefarm.

Due to the high number of impressive applications and the widespread need observed across the nation, State Farm will continue the grant program in 2025. Please stay tuned to the NVFC opportunities page.

About State Farm
For over 100 years, the mission of State Farm has been to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its more than 19,400 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 91

Greg Bluestein
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(TNS)

WRIGHTSVILLE — They are the far-flung towns that often feel invisible when major storms wreak havoc on Georgia. And officials are still working in these rural areas to uncover the extent of Hurricane Helene’s devastation.

While former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris all made separate visits this week to Valdosta and Augusta, two epicenters of Helene’s wrath, some of the most serious fallout took place in far smaller towns and settlements across east Georgia.

Gov. Brian Kemp led a two-day tour through about a dozen of these off-the-radar communities this week, bringing along state emergency officials, local legislators and community leaders to see the scope of the damage for themselves.

Even hardened emergency officials were stunned at what they saw. Flattened chicken coups. Ruined crops. Downed trees. Homes and businesses smashed beyond repair. Communities in crisis.

But they also took heart at the first responders and savvy local leaders who helped respond after the deadliest Georgia storm in decades.

“Y’all are all supermen,” Matt Hatchett, a local legislator, told a group of exhausted chainsaw workers, firefighters and medics gathered early Wednesday at a Wrightsville fire station.

“Just remember that you’re taking care of everybody else, so you’ve got to remember to take care of yourself.”

At each stop, Kemp told residents a similar message. Helene was the most significant storm to barrage Georgia in his lifetime and cleaning up the mess it left behind will be anything but simple.

“We aren’t going to sugarcoat anything. It’s going to be a long, hard, tough recovery,” he said. “But we’re working hard, and we’ll work hard every day until we get it done.”

Here are a few of their stories.

Signs of progress

DOUGLAS — Getting to the seat of Coffee County is like navigating a maze.

Downed power lines, splintered trees and telephone poles split like toothpicks line the roads into Douglas. At its height, the storm knocked out power to 99% of the county’s Georgia Power customers.

As Kemp entered town, he marveled grimly at the destruction. Even a monstrous hurricane Helene’s size couldn’t have caused this devastation. It looked like a cluster of tornadoes spawned by the storm crisscrossed town.

It could have been worse. Local officials credit the quick thinking of Steve Carver, the county’s emergency management chief, for aggressively deploying resources and stationing first responders as Helene homed in on Georgia.

By the middle of the week, key routes around the county of roughly 40,000 were cleared and a massive potable water truck rumbled into town. A few more trucks were supposed to arrive later in the week. Crews scattered arou

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Ascent Integrated Tech is proud to announce a major deployment of its on-scene accountability technology with the Milwaukee Fire Department. This deployment, driven by the leadership of Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, represents a significant step forward in enhancing firefighter safety and operational effectiveness.

Fire Chief Lipski has served the City of Milwaukee for more than 25 years. He joined as a fourth generation Milwaukee firefighter and has served as fire chief since 2021. In August, he was awarded Fire Chief of the Year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs- Great Lakes Division. He also serves as the President of the Wisconsin Fire Chief Association (PDF). This relationship began three years ago during one of Ascent’s first conversations with a fire chief and has since evolved into a key partnership, culminating in Milwaukee becoming the site of Ascent’s first major deployment in a large metro area.

“Chief Lipski was the first Metro Fire Department that we spoke with, and his leadership and commitment to innovation have been instrumental to our success,” said Paul Couston, CEO of Ascent Integrated Tech. “His dedication to leveraging technology to enhance safety and accountability for first responders aligns perfectly with our mission, and we’re honored to work alongside such an incredible leader “

The deployment of Ascent’s technology will equip Milwaukee Incident Command with real-time location tracking and on-scene accountability, providing crucial insights that enhance situational awareness and decision-making during emergencies. Built on the Team Awareness Kit (TAK)—a platform currently utilized by the military—this technology ensures robust and reliable performance while seamlessly integrating with existing systems for smooth implementation. Recently, Ascent Integrated Tech demonstrated this innovative technology at the Republican National Convention (RNC), highlighting its capability to enhance public safety in high-stakes environments. Furthermore, burn tests conducted across the U.S. have proven the reliability and effectiveness of our technology under real-world conditions. The Milwaukee Fire Department’s adoption of this solution sets a new standard for innovation and cooperation in the fire service, both locally and nationwide.

About Ascent Integrated Tech

Ascent enhances the safety and operational efficiency of first responders and military personnel by providing leadership with real-time visibility into their team’s location. Founded four years ago at the Illinois Fire Service Institute in Champaign, IL, Ascent’s technology is now deployed with seven fire departments across the U.S. and is actively pursuing partnerships with the Air Force.

About the Milwaukee Fire Department

The Milwaukee Fire Department, also known as the MFD, was established January 1, 1875. The department consists of 30 Fire Stations,

TRACI HASTINGS
The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
(TNS)

SCOTLAND — The Scotland Volunteer Fire Department will open its doors to the public this Saturday.

An Open House will be held at the Scotland Public Safety Complex from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors will have the chance to meet Smokey the Bear while learning about fire safety, and take tours of the fire station, which was recently upgraded through grants from Lowe’s Hometowns, an initiative from the home improvement retailer.

Earlier this year, Scotland’s department received $30,000 for the construction of bunkrooms and an office and the renovation of the kitchen. Another $2,500 in grant funding came from the local Lisbon branch of the store through its Heroes program, which contributed miscellaneous items to bring the project toward completion. Sherwin-Williams, the paint manufacturing company, donated paint, which volunteers from Lisbon Lowes applied to the interior of the station in August as part of its community service outreach program.

“The Lowes renovation has been completed,” Scotland Deputy Chief Michael Gurnack said. “They came out great.”

“We are putting on some finishing touches,” Chief Jason Beaumont added.

The department was founded din 1947 and the current station was built in 1999.

Scotland’s first responders received more funding through a community grant from utility company Eversource. The department used the funds to purchase carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and reflective address numbers. All of these will be distributed to Scotland residnts at the event.

“We will be handing them out to our town residents, one per household, while supplies last,” Gurnack said.

The reflective address numbers can be added to posts at the end of a driveway or on a mailbox post to help guide emergency responders to the right place in the event of a crisis.

Also at the event will be representatives from the Connecticut State Police K9 Unit, and from LifeStar, the critical-care helicopter service based at Hartford HealthCare’s Backus Hospital in Norwich. The helicopter will land at the station at approximately 2 p.m., if possible.

There will also be a drone demonstration, an inflatable bounce house for children and raffles, with a chance to win a DuroMax Power Equipment generator from Accurate Power LLC. Refreshments will be available.

The public safety complex is located at 47 Brook Road.

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(c)2024 The Chronicle (Willimantic, Conn.)

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Scotland receives new radios thanks to AFG grant

We are pleased to announce that we were recently notified that our request for an Assistance for Firefighters Grant (AFG) has been accepted, the department said in a Facebook post. This grant was regional effort by the following fire departments:

• Atwood Hose Fire Company

• Baltic Fire Department

• Canterbury Fire Department

• Chaplin Fire Department

• Hampton Fire Department

• Scotland Fire Department

The funding awarded in this grant will be used to purchase much-needed dual-band portable radios for each department. The new radios will replace equipment that is nearly 20-years old. The technology in the new radios will allow for better communication within each department and interoperability between mutual aid agencies throughout our region.

We would like to thank Representative Joseph Courtney and Senators Blumenthal and Murphy for their su