CLARKSVILLE, TN – The Gary Sinise Foundation and Whataburger provided a nearly $33,000 grant for new Swiftwater rescue gear for Clarksville Fire Rescue. The grant supports several sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as boots, dry suits and helmets, which will also come in handy as the state continues to experience extreme conditions.
Clarksville has had three record breaking floods in the last 12 months, with hundreds of residents rescued from their homes by their Swiftwater Rescue squad; this includes veterans and soldiers from Fort Campbell that call Clarksville home. Currently squad members share PPE, which leads to faster wear and tear, as well as making it difficult to properly clean PPE between users. Above and beyond sanitation standards, they are sometimes limited in the number of personnel that they can deploy in these emergencies, due to the outfitting constraints. With the addition of dry suits, boots and helmets, they will be more prepared to serve their community of 180,000 as well as better protect the men and women that proudly serve on the Rescue Squad.
Whataburger, in partnership with GSF, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support local police and fire departments around the country, including $350,000 last year and $500,000 since 2024, supporting local first responders around the country…