VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — Three area volunteer fire departments, Seneca VFD, Pinegrove Twp. VFD, and Rockland Twp. VFD, recently received a generous donation of canned emergency drinking water from Anheuser-Busch and the NVFC (“National Volunteer Fire Council”) to help provide critical hydration to first responders during this year’s wildfire season. On the evening of Monday, January 18, 2021, Erie Beer Co. Inc., a local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler partner, and Stubler Drive-Thru Beverage Inc. in Oil City, Pa., coordinated the delivery of two pallets of canned water to Seneca VFD. This donation is being received with open arms, as maintaining firefighters’ hydration during long incidents or disasters, such as wildfires, is a major safety concern for many fire departments.
Seneca VFD, Pinegrove Twp. VFD, and Rockland Twp. VFD are all 100% volunteer-staffed, non-profit, rural fire departments, who also provide rescue and medical QRS (“Quick Response Service”) services to the townships of Cranberry, Pinegrove, Rockland, and Richland in Venango County.
Collectively, these departments serve nearly 9,700 residents within a 159 square-mile area with roughly 75 active members on their rosters. On average, these departments respond to approximately 50 fire-related calls and 15 vegetation-fire calls annually. All three volunteer fire departments protect their respective portions of the Allegheny National Forest, as well as private forests and open wildlands in northwestern Pennsylvania, which are most at risk for vegetation fires during the summer months.
All three VFD’s have been working together since 2019 to research and apply for public and private grants in order to reduce costs and demonstrate interoperability: the ability for responders from differing departments and functional areas to cooperate and communicate effectively at the scene of an incident.
“Firefighters lose a tremendous amount of fluids during high-intensity fire ground operations. Proper hydration is key to ensuring the safety of our first responders and to keeping them performing at their best,” said Mariel Jeannerat, Grant Coordination team member of Seneca VFD. “We are incredibly thankful for this water donation from Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council, so that we may have the resources to keep our firefighters hydrated and ready to respond.”
The water was donated by Anheuser-Busch through a partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). Anheuser-Busch has a longstanding tradition of providing emergency drinking water and supplies for disaster relief efforts. The company periodically pauses beer production each year to can emergency drinking water to be ready to lend a helping hand during natural disasters and other crises.
Building on this commitment, the brewer teamed up with the NVFC – the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, emergency medical, and rescue services – in 2019 to provide emergency drinking water to help firefighters stay hydrated and healthy when responding to wildfires and large incidents. To date, the program has donated over 3.2 million cans of water to volunteer firefighters across the country.
Learn more about the program at www.nvfc.org/water.
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