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Tennessee American Water Awards Over $15,000 to Local Fire Departments

Grants awarded to 16 departments, leading up to First Responders Day

Chattanooga, Tenn. (Oct. 27, 2022) – As we approach National First Responders Day on October 28, Tennessee American Water has awarded, through its Firefighting Support Grant program, over $15,000 to 16 fire departments in Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie Counties in Tennessee, and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker Counties in Georgia. The grants provide supplemental funding to fire and emergency organizations supporting Tennessee American Water’s service areas.

Tennessee American Water’s Firefighting Support Grant Program covers a variety of fire department expenses associated with personal protective gear, communications equipment, firefighting tools, training, and fire prevention education.

“We know how important water is in protecting homes and businesses. We also understand resources for our local first responders can run short. We offer the firefighter grant program as a way to support first responders in a meaningful way.” said Grant Evitts, Tennessee American Water President. “The departments will utilize these funds to help keep our customers and communities safe in emergency situations.”

Departments receiving funding in 2022 are:

Hamilton County, TN

  • Chattanooga Fire Department – portable flow meter for training of adequate pressure for firefighting
  • City of East Ridge Fire Department – personal protective gear, communications equipment, and firefighting tools
  • City of Red Bank Fire Department – 4-way hydrant assist valve to efficiently deliver water to on the fire ground in the least amount of time
  • Elder Mountain Volunteer Fire & Rescue – replace firefighting hose
  • Lookout Mountain TN Police & Fire Department – supply hoses for adequate to deliver water from engine to a structure or wildland fire

Marion County, TN

  • Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department – handheld thermal imaging cameras to identify hazards that in most cases cannot been identified by the normal scope of vision
  • Jasper Highlands Volunteer Fire Department – nozzles to replace old, worn equipment with new, modern equipment
  • Sequatchie Volunteer Fire Department – new hose connections and grip kits for tools
  • Whitwell Volunteer Fire Department – external microphones for better communication while operating on an emergency scene as well as gated eye to help distribute water more efficiently while on a fire scene
  • Mullins Cove Volunteer Fire Department – new radios and repeater to enhance communication between the firefighters, other departments and Marion County Dispatch due to the remote location served by the department

Sequatchie County, TN

  • Southend Volunteer Fire Department – radios for all volunteer firefighters and CO2 detector to identify source of when responding to home CO2 detector alarm calls.
  • Lone Oak Volunteer Fire Department – 3” hose lines to deliver water from engine to a structure or wildland fire.

Catoosa County, GA

  • Catoosa County Fire Department – smoke alarms for county citizens

Dade County, GA

  • North Dade Volunteer Fire & Rescue – personal protective equipment (P.P.E.) or multi-gas detectors

Walker County, GA

  • Rossville Fire Department – Pagers to alert firefighters of calls
  • Walker County Fire Rescue – equipment to allow for quick deployment in areas where access and terrain may cause issues for apparatus access

Tennessee American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 380,000 people in Tennessee and north Georgia. For more information, visit www.tennesseeamwater.com and follow Tennessee American Water on Twitter and Facebook.

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water (NYSE:AWK) is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com.Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.


Media Contacts

Daphne Kirksey

External Affairs

423-771-4750

daphne.kirksey@amwater.com