The Brookhaven Fire Department has received a grant from CenterPoint Energy.

On July 22, representatives from CenterPoint Energy presented Fire Chief Tony Weeks with a $2,500 grant. Weeks said the grant will be used for gas monitoring equipment.

If the fire department receives a phone call regarding carbon monoxide detectors going off, the department can use equipment to detect how much of the gas is in the atmosphere.

“Until we know, we have to ventilate the whole building,” Weeks said. “It would save a few steps,” Weeks said.

Gas monitoring devices can also detect oxygen so firefighters know how much oxygen is available in a space.

“It definitely helps with that, knowing how much oxygen you got,” Weeks said.

The Community Partnership Grant allows CenterPoint Energy to invest in the cities it serves. The company has partnered with communities who share a commitment to safety for more than 145 years.

The program has been around since 2003 and has awarded more than $2 million in donations to support nearly 1000 projects in communities throughout the company’s service area.

This program allows for the purchase of needed safety equipment or to support safety projects.

For Brookhaven’s fire department, the grant will allow Weeks and his men to purchase gas-monitoring equipment.

“It make the department better,” Weeks said. “It’s one more thing we can provide to the public,” Weeks said.

Weeks received an email from CenterPoint about the grant and applied for it.

“That was pretty much it,” Weeks said. “We applied for it and we got it.”

The fire department applies for grants as they become available. Some are more complicated than others, but this one was easy to apply to according to Weeks.

“It’s good that we can get funding like this to buy equipment,” Weeks said.

 

Story by Gracie Byrne