The application period is now open for the Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters program, a partnership of Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). To be eligible, departments must respond to wildfires annually, be over 50 percent volunteer, and serve a population of 25,000 or less. This is the second application period in 2023; recipients from the first application period in March cannot apply.
The emergency drinking water is sourced from Anheuser-Busch’s breweries in Cartersville, GA, and Fort Collins, CO, which periodically pause beer production to can clean, safe drinking water to support disaster relief efforts in partnership with the American Red Cross and the NVFC. Since the Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters program began in 2019, over nine million cans of water have been donated to nearly 2,500 fire departments. That amount of water equals over one million dollars in cost savings for local departments.
One million cans of water will be donated in this current round of applications. Eligible departments can apply for one pallet (2,352 cans) of water to help keep their firefighters hydrated during wildfire response and other department activities. Learn more and apply by August 15 at www.nvfc.org/water.
