SELMA – The Selma Fire Department has benefited from a grant program provided by California Water Service (Cal Water) for the third time in six years.
Announced on Dec. 18, 2024, Selma was one of seven fire departments around the state to receive funding from Cal Water’s annual Firefighter Grant Program. In total, Cal Water distributed $175,000 in grant awards to support fire department operations and pay for essential equipment.
Funds awarded to Selma will help the department replace portable radios that allow first responders to conduct essential functions and provide health care to residents, and tactical helmets for firefighters when responding to active shooter, violent or potentially violent incidents, according to a Cal Water press release.
Beyond partnering with fire departments to ensure they have access to a reliable water supply, Cal Water supports local first responders “because when lives are at stake and minutes matter, we want to help these heroes putting their lives on the line to protect others to have the equipment and supplies they need,” Cal Water Chairman and CEO Martin Kropelnicki said in the press release.
The Cal Water Firefighter Grant Program began in 2019 and accepts applications every year around September. Including the 2024 awards, the program has provided more than $1 million in grants — funded through the utility’s philanthropic giving program — to fire departments in its service areas since its inception.
Selma Fire previously received grant awards from Cal Water in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, funding went to fire protective clothing known as turnouts, and in 2021 funding went to replace fire hose nozzles. Other nearby departments that have secured Cal Water grant funding include the Visalia Fire Department in 2020 and 2023, the Kern County Fire Department in 2021 and the Bakersfield Fire Department in 2020 and 2022.
