California Water Service (Cal Water) has opened its fourth annual Firefighter Grant Program. Professional or volunteer uniformed fire departments serving any portion of Cal Water’s service areas are now able to apply for funding to offset costs associated with fire protection efforts, equipment, training, and education.

The program was launched in 2019 and provided $60,000 in grants. Since then, the program has nearly tripled, with $175,000 distributed among eight fire departments in 2021.

Cal Water awarded grants ranging from $7,500 to $38,000 last year for equipment such as new hoses, nozzles, and personal protective equipment to a rapid inflatable rescue raft, battery-powered hydraulic vehicle extrication tools, and a HeloPod.

Martin A. Kropelnicki, Cal Water President and CEO, said: “For the past three years, we have seen first-hand the meaningful differences our grants have made in protecting our communities and firefighters. We are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to partner in this way with the brave firefighters in our service areas, not only to supply the water they need in emergencies, but also to support the work they do every day to keep our customers and communities safe.”

Of the grant received in 2020 by the Northshore Fire Protection District in Lucerne, California, Fire Chief Mike Ciancio said: “A big thank you to Cal Water for accepting the Northshore Fire Protection District as a recipient of its community grant program. Cal Water donated funds to the department so that we could purchase a new set of extrication tools; these tools replaced a set of extrication tools that were over 20 years old and we could no longer get parts for.”

The application period for this year’s cycle will close at 5pm PT on Friday, 2 September. Grant recipients will be notified later in September 2022, when Firefighter Appreciation Month is observed.

For more information about the Firefighter Grant Program or to submit an application, applicants can visit www.calwater.com/firefightergrant or email [email protected].