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About Bracken Volunteer Fire Department:
Bracken Volunteer Fire Department proudly protects 7000 people living in an area of approximately 70 square miles that includes the City of Garden Ridge and a primarily rural area. The staff is a combination of paid full-time, paid part-time and unpaid volunteer personnel.

The department was founded in 1968, and now operates eight fire trucks, one rescue truck, one utility/support truck, and one command SUV out of two stations. Currently, there are fifteen active volunteer firefighters, seven paid full-time firefighters, and fifteen part-time firefighters. The Central Station is located just north of Garden Ridge and is staffed 24/7 with a minimum of two firefighter/emergency medical technicians. Station 2 is located near John Paul II Catholic High School at 6789 FM 482 and is normally unmanned. Department firefighting training is held at Central Station on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 7PM, while medical and rescue drills alternate on the first Tuesday of every other month at 6PM. Feel free to stop by and visit your fire department!

Department Type: Combination Paid/Volunteer

Services Provided:

· Firefighting
· Basic Life Support (BLS) Emergency Medical Service
· Advanced Life Support (ALS) Emergency Medical Service
· Vehicle Rescue (Extrication)
· Search & Rescue (SAR)
· Other Technical/Specialized Rescue

Funding: Bracken VFD receives funds from two sources: 1) tax revenue generated by ESD #6 sales tax and property tax; and 2) fundraising efforts of the department’s membership. ESD #6 revenue is used to fund paid staff salary, wages. benefits, and to procure periodic high-cost items such as new apparatus or major equipment. Departmental fundraising revenue is used to pay the day-to-day operation and maintenance expenses of the department such as consumables (fuel, oil, foam, tires, medical supplies, cleaning materials, admin, batteries, etc.), repairs (facilities, equipment, apparatus), utilities, and minor equipment.

Department Fundraising: Bracken VFD raises funds in several ways:

Membership Dues:  There are five types of memberships: ANNUAL INDIVIDUAL membership is $5/year. ANNUAL FAMILY membership is $15/year. LIFETIME INDIVIDUAL membership is $200/person. ANNUAL CORPORATE membership is $100/year. LIFETIME CORPORATE membership is $1000. Membership does not REQUIRE you to become a firefighter, but you MUST be a member to become a volunteer firefighter.

Engraved Bricks: Located in front of the Central Station, personalized engraved bricks are $50 for two lines of text and $60 for three lines of text.

Reflective Address Signs: Blue reflective signs with reflective white 3” lettering are sold for just $20. Make sure we can quickly locate your home or business on that dark night call by prominent display of your reflective address sign. 

Donations: Donations are accepted from individuals, families, and area businesses. Donations take several forms and include money, items for the Firefighter Festival auction / raffle, and labor such as setup, serving food, working the live auction, selling raffle tickets, and cleanup at the Firefighter Festival held the first Saturday in May at the Garden Ridge Community Center. The support of the community is vital to the success of Bracken VFD.

Firefighter Festival: Held at the Garden Ridge Community Center on the first Saturday of May, the Firefighter Festival is the Department’s primary fundraiser. A live and auction and raffle of donated items (some worth hundreds of dollars) are key to Bracken VFD’s fundraising efforts.

Grants: Bracken VFD actively seeks grant money to meet training and equipment needs through organizations such as FEMA, Texas Forest Service, Texas Farm Bureau, etc.