Illinois American Water Distributes Grant to Lemont Fire District

The Lemont Fire Protection District will be purchasing one dive computer watch for underwater search and rescue members thanks to a grant from Illinois American Water (IAW).

The IAW 2018 Firefighter Grant Program provides financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in its service areas. This year, approximately $77,000 will be awarded to 78 Illinois fire departments. Since the program was created in 2010, over 500 grants totaling over $493,000 has been awarded to fire and emergency organizations serving customers in Illinois American Water’s service area.

“We are proud to partner with our local firefighters. Illinois American Water tests and operates every fire hydrant annually. We also maintain all of the hydrants, over 29,000 across the state, in our service areas. We know the critical role water plays in protecting homes and businesses and we also know resources for our local heroes often runs short. Through this grant program, we are able to partner on another level and further support our local heroes,” said Bruce Hauk, Illinois American Water President.

Illinois American Water’s Firefighter Grant Program awards grants to provide personal protective gear, communications equipment, firefighting tools, water handling equipment, training materials and classroom programs.

Lemont Fire Chief George Rimbo thanked Illinois American Water during the check presentation. “The Lemont Fire Protection District would like to thank Illinois American Water for the generous grant. This will allow us to purchase much needed equipment that we can use to provide quality service to the residents we serve.”

Caption for the Photo: (Left to Right) Natalee Cedillo, Municipal Advocate, Illinois American Water; Lemont Fire Chief George Rimbo; and Tom Harrell, Operations Supervisor, Illinois American Water.

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 over 14 million people in 45 states and Ontario, Canada. 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 amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.