Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade(TM) Supports Community Firefighters

ATLANTA, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ — October is the true beginning of fall. School is in full swing, communities are filled with the sounds and activities of weekend sporting events and festivals.

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October is also National Fire Prevention month and the time when Georgia-Pacific – through its Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade(TM) initiative – thanks the selfless members of local community fire departments across the United States who battle blazes, perform dangerous rescues, contain hazardous spills and educate children on fire safety. Many of these units do their work with aging, failing equipment or without the specialized gear they need, and many do it without getting paid.

“We appreciate the work that volunteer and small town fire departments do in our facility communities all across this country,” said Jim Hannan, CEO and President, Georgia-Pacific. “Because many of our employees also serve as volunteer firefighters, we understand the demands on these units and their need for equipment and financial support. The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade program allows us to show our appreciation for the essential services they provide.”

The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade is a national program that recognizes the contributions of fire departments in communities with Georgia-Pacific facilities. Launched in 2006, the initiative has contributed approximately $500,000 to rural and small town fire units across the United States. The program supports firefighters with product and cash donations for programming and purchasing necessary equipment, and safety education materials for presentations in local schools. This year’s 24 Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade winners were chosen from more than 100 applicants in 28 states.

The program is meeting critical needs during a time in which increased demand for volunteer firefighters is putting additional strains on available resources to equip them. Volunteers comprise 72 percent of all firefighters in the United States, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Fire Protection Association. Of the total estimated 1,148,800 volunteer and paid firefighters across the country, 825,450 are volunteers.

More than 100 departments applied for the grants, with the following final recipients being chosen:

    Department                          Location              Grant Amount
    ----------                          --------              ------------
    Lambeth Community Volunteer Fire    Flomaton, Ala.
     Department                                                    $10,000
    Cooterneck Fire Department          Fordyce, Ark.               $5,000
    Gurdon Fire Department              Gurdon, Ark.                $7,000
    Hamburg Fire Department             Hamburg, Ark.              $10,000
    Francis Volunteer Fire Department   Palatka, Fla.              $10,000
    City of Rincon Fire Department      Rincon, Ga.                $10,000
    Springfield Fire Department         Springfield, Ga.           $10,000
    Slaughter Fire Department           Slaughter, La.             $10,000
    Duluth Fire Department              Duluth, Minn.               $5,000
    Arlington Volunteer Fire Department Beaumont, Miss.            $10,000
    Lawrence County Volunteer Fire
     Department                         Monticello, Miss.           $2,500
    Sontag Volunteer Fire Department    Sontag, Miss.               $7,500
    Lyon Mountain Volunteer Fire        Lyon Mountain, N.Y.
     Department                                                     $5,000
    Milford, N.J. Fire Department       Milford, N.J.               $5,000
    Farmer Volunteer Fire Department    Asheboro, N.C.              $5,000
    Pickaway Township Fire Department   Circleville, Ohio           $5,000
    Brushy Mountain Volunteer Fire      Muskogee, Okla.
     Department                                                    $10,000
    Bradford Township Volunteer Fire    Bradford, Penn.
     Department                                                     $5,000
    Hollywood Fire Department           Saluda, S.C.                $5,000
    Moncks Corner Rural Fire Department Moncks Corner, S.C.         $5,000
    Jarratt Volunteer Fire Department   Jarratt, Va.                $5,000
    Town of Buchanan Fire Department    Buchanan, Wis.              $5,000
    Abrams Fire Department              Appleton, Wis.             $10,000
    Big Horn County Fire Protection     Lovell, Wyo.
     District #1                                                    $5,000

Headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related chemicals. The company employs more than 45,000 people at approximately 300 locations in North America, South America and Europe. The familiar consumer tissue brands of Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Sparkle®, Soft ‘n Gentle®, Mardi Gras®, So-Dri® and Vanity Fair®. Dixie Consumer Products LLC, a Georgia-Pacific company, manufactures the Dixie® brand of tabletop products. Georgia-Pacific has long been among the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers, with brands such as Plytanium® plywood, DryPly® water repellent plywood, Ply-Bead® panels and Wood I Beam(TM) joists offered by Georgia-Pacific Wood Products LLC and DensArmor Plus® interior drywall, DensGlass® Sheathing and ToughRock® wallboard offered by Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC. For more information, visit www.gp.com.

SOURCE Georgia-Pacific