News

October is the true beginning of fall. School is in full-swing, and communities are filled with the sounds and activities of weekend sporting events and festivals.

 

October is also National Fire Prevention month and the time when Georgia-Pacific – through its Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade™ initiative – thanks the selfless members of local community fire departments across the United States who battle blazes, perform dangerous rescues, contain hazardous spills, and educate children on fire safety. Many of these units do their work with aging, failing equipment or without the specialized gear they need, and many do it without getting paid.

 

“We appreciate the work that volunteer and small town fire departments do in our facility communities all across this country,” said Jim Hannan, CEO and President, Georgia-Pacific. “Because many of our employees also serve as volunteer firefighters, we understand the demands on these units and their need for equipment and financial support. The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade program allows us to show our appreciation for the essential services they provide."

 

The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade is a national program that recognizes the contributions of fire departments in communities with Georgia-Pacific facilities. Launched in 2006, the initiative has contributed approximately $500,000 to rural and small town fire units across the United States. The program supports firefighters with product and cash donations for programming and purchasing necessary equipment, and safety education materials for presentations in local schools. This year’s 24 Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade winners were chosen from more than 100 applicants in 28 states. Georgia-Pacific also partnered with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) to give all 2009 applicants a year-long membership to the NVFC.

 

The program is meeting critical needs during a time in which increased demand for volunteer firefighters is putting additional strains on available resources to equip them. Volunteers comprise 72 percent of all firefighters in the United States, according to the NVFC and the National Fire Protection Association. Of the total estimated 1,148,800 volunteer and paid firefighters across the country, 825,450 are volunteers.

 

More than 100 departments applied for the grants, with the following final recipients being chosen:

 

Department	Location	Grant Amount
Lambeth Community Volunteer Fire Department	Flomaton , AL	$10,000
Cooterneck Fire Department Gurdon Fire Department Hamburg Fire Department	Fordyce , AR Gurdon , AR Hamburg , AR	$5,000 $7,000 10,000
Francis Volunteer Fire Department	Palatka , FL	$10,000
City of Rincon Fire Department Springfield Fire Department	Rincon , GA Springfield , GA	$10,000 10,000
Slaughter Fire Department	Slaughter, LA	$10,000
Duluth Fire Department	Duluth , MN	$5,000
Arlington Volunteer Fire Department Lawrence County Volunteer Fire Department Sontag Volunteer Fire Department	Beaumont , MS Monticello , MS Sontag , MS	$10,000 $2,500 $7,500
Lyon Mountain Volunteer Fire Department	Lyon Mountain , NY	$5,000
Milford , N.J. Fire Department	Milford , NJ	$5,000
Farmer Volunteer Fire Department	Asheboro , NC	$5,000
Pickaway Township Fire Department	Circleville , OH	$5,000
Brushy Mountain Volunteer Fire Department	Muskogee , OK	$10,000
Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department	Bradford, PA	$5,000
Hollywood Fire Department Moncks Corner Rural Fire Department	Saluda , SC Moncks Corner, SC	$5,000 $5,000
Jarratt Volunteer Fire Department	Jarratt , VA	$5,000
Town of Buchanan Fire Department Abrams Fire Department	Buchanan , WI Abrams , WI	$5,000 $10,000
Big Horn County Fire Protection District #1	Lovell , WY	$5,000