Several Westmoreland County volunteer fire departments will soon be able to add training sessions and purchase new equipment thanks to a grant from the Chevron energy corporation.
These volunteer fire departments will receive grants up to $5,000: Sewickley Township stations 1, 2, 3 and 4; Smithton; Sutersville; Turkeytown; and Yukon; and as well as the Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team.
The Moon Township Volunteer Fire Department in Allegheny County also received funding, along with 24 departments in Fayette County, 11 in Greene County, six in Washington County and 14 in Marshall County, W.Va.
Specific amounts for individual stations were not immediately available.
“It’s much appreciated for sure,” said Michael Manley, deputy chief of the Sutersville department. “Any kind of support financially is just wonderful to say the least. Grants are very competitive and … the rising cost of everything now just to outfit a firefighter and get them prepared, it’s just astronomical. We can’t do it alone. That’s why we rely on community partnerships.”
The California-based company started donating funds to Fayette and Greene counties in 2016, expanding that the other Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia the following year. Over $700,000 has been donated to local departments since 2016, used for automated external defibrillators, stop-bleed kits and body cameras.
“We are proud to continue our support for first responders in and around the communities where Chevron’s privileged to operate,” Trip Oliver, corporate affairs manager for Chevron, said in a news release. “Many departments are volunteer forces with limited budgets, so we are grateful for the opportunity to help ensure they have the resources necessary to protect and serve the communities in which we live and work.”
