To ensure volunteer emergency response departments are equipped with technology and tools to effectively respond to rural emergencies, Compeer Financial awarded 48 departments in Wisconsin grants totaling $344,376. The Emergency First Responder Grants provide rural first responders with critical equipment that improves lifesaving capabilities, protects volunteer responders, strengthens regional emergency preparedness, and enhances the safety and resilience of the communities they serve.
Responding to rural crises is becoming increasingly difficult, as departments are faced with limited funding, larger coverage areas, population demographic challenges and dated communication infrastructure. As a rural-based business, Compeer Financial understands the strain volunteer emergency response departments are under.
“As rural residents ourselves, we want to ensure our first responders are prepared to answer emergency calls. The Emergency First Responder Grants support our vision of creating a world where agriculture and rural communities are dynamic, collaborative and thriving. We’re proud to award these grants that provide first responders with important equipment, personal protective gear and technology and enhance their ability to respond to crisis situations,” said Karen Schieler, manager of Compeer Giving at Compeer Financial.
Departments will use this year’s grants to support the following capabilities:
- Improve response times and emergency care. In rural areas where transport times are often longer, having lifesaving equipment in the hands of first responders can mean earlier intervention and better patient outcomes. Many departments are using grant funds for automated external defibrillators (AEDs), cardiac monitors, radios, pagers and advanced emergency medical services (EMS) equipment.
- Strengthen firefighter and responder safety. Due to funding constraints, emergency response departments often have to choose between upgrading tools and equipment or updating safety gear. A significant portion of grant requests focus on replacing outdated turnout gear, helmets, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) equipment, boots, radios and other protective equipment.
- Expand local rescue capabilities and reduce reliance on distant resources. In many rural communities, the nearest specialized rescue team may be 30-40 minutes away. Several departments are investing in specialized rescue equipment for grain bin rescues, vehicle extrications, confined-space incidents and technical rescues to help ensure life-saving capabilities are available closer to home when every minute matters.
Grants help address the unique needs of rural emergency response departments, including:
- Offset rising equipment costs. Many volunteer and small paid-on-call departments operate on very limited budgets. Grant funding often serves as the catalyst that allows departments to begin critical replacement projects that otherwise would be delayed for years.
- Enable regional emergency response networks. The benefits extend beyond the individual department. Equipment purchased through these grants is often used during mutual aid responses and shared across neighboring jurisdictions to increase interoperability and help multiple communities respond more effectively to large incidents.
- Support the vitality of rural and agricultural communities. Many funded projects directly address risks unique to rural America – grain bin rescues, farm accidents, wildland fires, water supply challenges and long EMS response distances. By strengthening emergency response capacity, the grants help protect farmers, agricultural workers, businesses, residents and the local economies that depend on them.
Since beginning the Emergency Response Grants in 2018, Compeer Giving has provided more than $5.75 million in grants to equip volunteer first responders with the equipment and tools needed to aid rural residents across Compeer’s 144-county territory. The Emergency First Responder Grants account for both the needs of the department to service the community and the safety needs of the volunteer first responders.
- Essential Response Equipment: This encompasses equipment needed to effectively respond to incidents. Examples of equipment include hand and extraction tools, fire suppression tools, fire response and medical equipment.
- Responder Life-Safety Need: This includes equipment and resources needed to protect and support first responders. Examples include communication equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Compeer Giving intends to offer the Emergency First Responder Grants again in 2027.
The 48 departments in Wisconsin that received an Emergency First Responder Grant of up to $7,500 this year include:
- Ada Fire Department: Extrication gloves, hydraulic ram and extension
- Arena Fire Department: SCBA packs, cylinders
- Barneveld Area Rescue Squad: Turnout safety helmets
- Barron Maple Grove Fire Department: Firefighter helmets
- Belleville Fire Department: Portable AEDs
- Brule Fire & EMS: Mobile Multi Band Public safety radio
- Cambria Community Fire Department: Fire hose
- Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department: Radios
- Chicog Volunteer Fire Department: Turnout gear
- City of Waterloo Fire & EMS: Structural firefighting boots
- Cobb-Eden Volunteer Fire Department: Firefighter coats, pants, helmets
- Cuba City Fire Department: AEDs, pagers
- Darien Fire/EMS/Darien Crossed Irons Firefighters Association: Extrication lift air bags
- Dunn County Emergency Medical Responders: LUCAS chest compression system
- Eagle Point Volunteer Fire Department: Turnout gear
- Eleva Fire Department: Radios
- Elmwood Area Ambulance Service: Portable radios
- Fall River Fire Department: Mobile radio, hose
- Glen Haven Volunteer Fire Department: Personal protective gear
- Glenwood City Ambulance: Mobile radios
- Greenbush Fire Department: Pagers, portable radio holsters
- Johnson Creek Fire & EMS Department: Turnout gear
- Kickapoo Valley Rescue Squad: Radios
- Montfort Fire Department: AEDs
- Monticello Fire and Rescue: Extrication tools
- Mount Calvary Ambulance Service: Pagers
- Muscoda EMS: Radios
- Neosho Fire Department: Hose, nozzles
- Osceola Fire & Rescue: Turnout gear
- Osseo Rural Fire Department: SCBA equipment
- Plain EMS: Advanced emergency medical technician equipment, turnout gear
- Prairie du Chien Fire Department: Battery-powered JAWS of life cutting tool
- Randolph Ambulance Association: Radios
- Random Lake Fire Department: Fire turnout gear
- Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department Inc.: Structural firefighting boots
- Rio Fire Department: PPE
- Seneca Volunteer Fire Department: Strut stabilization kit
- Sharon Fire & Rescue / Fighting Forty Association: Hose
- South Wayne Fire Department: Portable radios
- Town & Village of Eden Fire Department: Radios
- Town of Randall Fire Department: Portable radio package
- Town of Turtle Fire Department: Turnout gear
- Township Fire Dept.-Pleasant Valley: Battery-operated extrication equipment
- Viroqua Fire Department: Battery-operated extrication tool combination cutter and spreaders
- Washburn Fire Department: Turnout gear
- Weyerhaeuser Fire District: Turnout gear
- Whitehall Fire Department: Fire hose, nozzles
- Wyocena Fire Department: AED machines, pagers
