Energy Transfer public affairs manager Christopher Koop shows off the new lockers that were funded by his company’s First Responder Fund as Cumberland Trail Fire District fire chief Tim Hall on left and Energy Transfer operations manager Brian Shafer on right. (T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA)

Cumberland Trail Fire District captain Alex Gazdik, on left, shakes Energy Transfer public affairs manager Christopher Koop when Koop presents him with a $10,618 check for station 2’s new lockers as fire chief Tim Hall stands behind. (T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA)

Cumberland Fire Trail firefighters Caleb Gotschall, from left, Aron Russell, Silas Tracy, Kasey Perkins, fire chief Tim Hall, captain Alex Gazdik, Energy Transfer public affairs manager Christopher Koop, operations manager Brian Shafer, firefighters Shane Smolenak, Drew Riddle, Sam Chichwak, assistant chief Daniel Grady, and firefighter Michael Lollini celebrate station 2 receiving $10,618 from Energy Transfer. (T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA)

Energy Transfer public affairs manager Christopher Koop said that the donation came from the company’s First Responder Fund.

The fund, established in 2016, has provided over 100 grants to first responder organizations in the Midwest and Northeast, supporting them with essential equipment like turnout gear, self-contained breathing apparatus, and gear lockers.

He said that the fund aims to address the rising costs of equipment and the decline of traditional funding sources as well as emphasizing Energy Transfer’s commitment to community support and partnership with first responder organizations.

“As a company, we realized that the things that these amazing first responders need are getting more and more expensive, that in conjunction with some of the traditional funding streams that might have been available to them drying up,” Koop said. “So we took a good hard look at ourselves and decided to try to give back in this way. It’s a real honor to be here today, and especially when you’ve got a grant that was this well written and put together that makes days like these very easy.”

The grant application was written by Cumberland Trail Fire District captain Alex Gazdik when he discovered the grant.

“I found out that they were doing grants through their First Responder Fund when I was stationed out here [at Station 2] for about a year, and our gear lockers were the original ones from when the firehouse was built in 2000,” he said. “Some of them were falling apart and had broken or missing parts. A lot of zip ties were being used to keep them together. And I thought that this would be a good opportunity to use Energy Transfers’ First Responder Fund to try to get some funding for new lockers.”

Gazdik added that the 26 new lockers were fully funded by the grant and are on wheels which allows them to easily be moved.

“I’m very grateful for Energy Transfer, for selecting us and awarding the money. I think it’s a great addition,” he said. “I think all of the firemen here are going to benefit from the new locker storage area.”

Gazdik added that, with help from fire chief Tim Hall, he submitted the grant to Energy Transfer’s office and was successful.

Hall said that the station just didn’t have the ample room for gear due to staffing increases.

“We didn’t have an adequate amount of lockers for the staffing that we have at this firehouse,” Hall said. “The second thing was, because of the lockers aging out and needing repairs, a lot of the gear was being improperly stored at our firehouse because they didn’t have a proper place to store it.”

He added that a lot of the gear was left on the bay floor and had to be moved when cleaning the bay floor or rotating vehicles.

“That’s not in the best interest of our employees for their safety and we want to make sure that we’re keeping them safe, keeping contaminants off their gear. So the last place we want to be storing them is on the bay floor,” Hall said. “So now they can be properly and safely stored, stowed away and readily available in the event that they’re ready to respond. They’re ready to

respond to a call.”

He added that he is very appreciative of Energy Transfer’s commitment to the areas it serves and helping out first responders and its commitment to giving back to local communities.