Illinois American Water Distributes Grant to Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District

The Lisle-Woodridge Fire Department will be purchasing new smoke alarms for the community, thanks to a grant from Illinois American Water (IAW).

The IAW 2016 Firefighter Grant Program provides financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in its service areas. This year, approximately $49,600 will be awarded to 62 fire departments. To date, the program has resulted in over 350 grants totaling over $342,000 awarded across the state.

"Our teams partner closely with fire departments, testing and operating every fire hydrant across the state and working hard to ensure reliable water service for fire protection, but we wanted to do more," said Bruce Hauk, president of Illinois American Water. "This program enables us to further support our local heroes in the communities we serve."

Grants of up to $700 are awarded to cover the costs associated with the following:

 Personal protective gear

 Communications equipment

 Firefighting tools

 Water handling equipment

 Training and related activities/materials used to support community fire protection

 Reimbursement for specific fire training classes, including training manuals and workbooks

Neil Berkowitz, Public Education Specialist of Lisle-Woodridge thanked Illinois American Water during the check presentation stating: "On behalf of the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District I would like to thank Illinois American Water for awarding us a grant through your Firefighter Grant Program. This award will enable our department to help combat the epidemic of non-functioning or non-existent smoke alarms in single- family homes. It will allow us the ability to reach out to our community and achieve our goal of bringing peace of mind to our first responders and the residents they serve by knowing they have the warning they need in an emergency. Ensuring our residents have early warning in an emergency situation will make it safer not only for those that we protect but also our firefighters. We are grateful that Illinois American Water has this program."

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 1.2 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville.