CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Harrison Township’s all-volunteer fire department has received a fresh supply of emergency drinking water through a national program designed to keep firefighters hydrated during wildfires and other lengthy calls in extreme heat.
Classic Brands Chillicothe, the local Anheuser-Busch distributor, delivered the water to Harrison Township Fire & Rescue’s station this week, the department said in a Facebook post thanking Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council for the donation.
The shipment came through the National Volunteer Fire Council’s Anheuser-Busch Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters Program, a partnership the two organizations launched in 2019 that has since distributed nearly 12 million cans of water to volunteer departments nationwide. Anheuser-Busch has said it plans to donate 1.5 million cans of water through the program in 2026 alone.
To qualify, fire departments must be made up of more than 50% volunteers, serve a population of 25,000 or fewer, and respond to wildland fires, including uncontrolled fires in forests, prairies, grasslands, brushlands or cropland. Under the program, the water is shipped to Anheuser-Busch’s local wholesaler partners, who coordinate delivery in Anheuser-Busch-branded trucks.
“This water will help keep our firefighters hydrated during wildfires and extended responses in extreme heat, which is a must to keep them available for you,” Harrison Township Fire & Rescue said in its post.
Harrison Township Fire & Rescue is staffed entirely by volunteers and operates out of a single station on Charleston Pike, serving the township on the outskirts of Chillicothe in Ross County.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Harrison Township Fire & Rescue’s Facebook page.
