Schulenburg VFD Grant Pays Off Big for Fayette County

In steady state and dark skies, communication is key. Having the right tools to ensure messages get delivered in a timely manner is paramount to responding to, and recovering from, a disaster. Sometimes though, those tools are expensive and can be out of reach for rural first responders. With that thought in mind, Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) took the lead in applying for a regional grant through the Assistant to Firefighters program through FEMA. Five of Fayette County’s volunteer departments and Fayette County EMS agreed to participate as well. Aug. 31 they got the word that the application was successful and will receive a total of $952,970 to purchase P25 compliant radios. “P25 is a set of standards and specifications which enable interoperability among digital two-way radio communications to support missions critical to public safety requirements. It’s been mandated that all first responding agencies are P25 compliant by 2025. That means new radios, which can be an expensive item for small departments. We are very pleased that our application was chosen to be funded. It means a lot to SVFD and the other departments who are also recipients,” said Jeff Proske, SVFD chief.

The amount a fire department can apply for is determined by a specific formula set by FEMA. The grant includes a match component, which will be shared by the fire departments and EMS.

“I want to thank Round Top/Warrenton, Carmine, La Grange, Ellinger and Winchester fire departments as well as FCEMS for participating in the grant. I also want to thank the City of Schulenburg for allowing us to apply under their umbrella and Fayette County for letting their staff work on this application. I would especially like to thank Angela Hahn for her expertise and dedication to this grant process. Her experience was invaluable to us... We surely would not have been awarded this grant without her help. It definitely was a team effort and it paid off,” Proske said. “We believe it is important to support our first responders, particularly our volunteer fire departments. They serve a role that is invaluable and most often on their own time and expense. We appreciate SVFD in taking the lead in securing this grant. A job well done,” said County Judge Joe Weber.