From left: Adam Jenschke, Tarpley VFD chief; Lori A. Berger, LCRA Board member; Lindsey Bertrand, BEC marketing team lead; Curtis Kosub, Tarpley VFD treasurer; Robert Sanders, Tarpley VFD president; Doug Carlyle, Tarpley VFD Captain; and Steve Dyer, LCRA Regional Affairs representative.
BANDERA COUNTY, Texas – A $15,676 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and BEC will help fund the purchase of new handheld radios for first responders with the Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department.
The grant, along with matching funds of $3,919 from Tarpley VFD, will be used to buy five state-of-the-art, six-watt radios, continuing an upgrade that began in 2017 with an initial purchase of 10 six-watt units. The new radios will be allocated to the department’s most active firefighters and medics who don’t yet have a top-shelf unit.
Founded in 1975, the Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department covers a service area that spans 91 square miles of hilly, diverse terrain in south central Bandera County. Through experience, the department’s firefighters and medics have learned the vital importance of clear and precise communication in the field, and how a rugged handheld radio that performs flawlessly can prevent injury and loss of life.
“With the addition of five more handheld radios, each apparatus and each active firefighter in the department will have the best possible handheld device for communicating on analog and digital channels throughout the Hill Country in Bandera County – and with adjoining fire departments with whom we engage in mutual-aid responses,” said Capt. Doug Carlyle, secretary of the Tarpley VFD.
“This not only makes for distinct and clear dispatching and effective communication during a call, but the radios also have the transmitting power and reception capability to enhance emergency response, allowing us to serve our stakeholders in the best way possible,” Carlyle said.
The community grant is one of a number of grants recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bandera Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted from Jan. 1-31, 2020. More information is available at LCRA.org/CDPP.