Illinois American Water Distributes Grant to Elgin Fire Dept.

The Elgin Fire Department will be purchasing Personal Protective Equipment of 1 Harness and 24 Lock Carabiners for their regionalized Technical Rescue Team thanks to a grant from Illinois American Water.

The Illinois American Water Firefighter Grant Program provides financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in its service areas. The program awards grants to provide personal protective gear, communications equipment, firefighting tools, water handling equipment, training materials and classroom programs. The grant winners were announced in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 6 – 12, 2019, to raise awareness about the importance of fire prevention and emergency planning.

This year, over $88,000 will be shared by 90 Illinois fire departments through the grant program. Since the program was created in 2010, over 590 grants totaling over $582,000 have been awarded.

“We know the critical role water plays in protecting homes and businesses; we also know resources for our local heroes often run short. The Illinois American Water firefighter grant program was created to help bridge the gap and support our local firefighters,” said Bruce Hauk, Illinois American Water President.

Battalion Chief Dan Rink thanked Illinois American Water during the check presentation. “On behalf of the Elgin Fire Department and the residents of Elgin, I would like to thank Illinois American Water for awarding us another grant from your Firefighters Grant Program. The funding from this grant will allow our Technical Rescue Team the ability to purchase much needed harnesses and rigging equipment to enable team members to perform varying technical rescue operations. This equipment will provide our members with a greater degree of personal safety. We are incredibly grateful for your grant program and for the opportunities they provide to purchase tools and equipment.”

About Illinois American Water

Illinois 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 and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to more than 14 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit www.amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.