The Enterprise Volunteer Fire Department in Clanton received a check for $5,000 after being selected among 25 fire units across the country to receive a grant from The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade on Tuesday.

Georgia-Pacific plant manager Tom Booker said it was important to honor the volunteer fire department due to firefighters working to save lives.

“We honor them because they take care of us,” Booker said. “In an emergency type setting, it is these guys that step up to the plate.”

Since 2006, the Bucket Brigade program has supported local fire departments in Georgia-Pacific facility communities with more than $1 million in contributions. This includes awarding cash grants, providing safety education materials for school presentations and paying for memberships for all grant applicants to the National Volunteer Fire Council. The Bucket Brigade program meets critical needs for fire departments in small and rural communities with a large volunteer base.

Booker and Georgia-Pacific plant safety manager for the Thorsby wood products facility Billy Dispennette presented the check to the firefighters at the Enterprise Volunteer Fire station on County Road 49.

Enterprise Volunteer District Fire Chief Raymond Hudman said he was “overjoyed” to find out his department had received the money.

“It is very important to us,” Hudman said. “We found out last week we had been selected and we were overjoyed.”

Hudman and chief of the Enterprise Volunteer Fire Department Gary Headley said the money will go to purchasing personal protection equipment for the firefighters.

“We want to buy turnout clothes with the money,” Hudman said.

Hudman and Headley explained that oftentimes the fire equipment will suffer damage when responding to a fire and has to be replaced every 15 years, or new volunteers have to be outfitted with the correct gear.

“It is important for our volunteer firefighters to be outfitted correctly so they can safely protect lives,” Headley said.

Headquartered in 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 35,000 people worldwide.

“It is important to recognize this volunteer fire department because it is people at this fire department that help people like me out,” Booker said.