The New Waverly Volunteer Fire Department continues to aggressively pursue available state and federal grant funding in an effort to improve services for residents of Walker County Emergency Services District #2. In the past few years, the NWVFD has received grants for capital improvements and training in excess of $500,000 and continues to seek grant funding for major projects whenever possible.
New Waverly Firefighters annually apply for several different grants and are usually successful in at least one or two each year. Successful grant applications in recent years have allowed the department to purchase safer self-contained breathing apparatus and a recent federal grant approval will allow for the replacement of a 1983 pumper truck that was no longer safe to operate. The purchase of the new pumper with grant funding will benefit property owners with lower fire insurance rates, while reducing the burden on local property taxes.
In 2009, the New Waverly Fire Department received a rating of 4 from the Texas Insurance Services Office, effectively lowering fire insurance rates by as much as 65% for some homes in the ESD. Chief Jacob Slott stated, “The Department and the Emergency Services District are committed to providing the best possible services while keeping costs as low as possible. We will continue to seek grant funding for major purchases whenever possible to limit the burden on local property taxes. Residents will continue to benefit from lower insurance rates and our firefighters will be safer as they go about their job providing emergency services to our community.”
Additional grant funding in recent years has allowed for the replacement of worn out firefighter protective clothing, as well as new wildland firefighting gear and portable radios to improve communications at emergency incidents. Training materials and specialized training are also funded through annual grant funding provided by the Texas Forest Service.
