Beer company donates water to local firefighters

Anheuser-Busch is known for beer, but recently has focused on providing the most basic liquid commodity of all — water — to appreciative volunteer fire departments in Surry County and elsewhere.

In all, 31 firefighting units across North Carolina were beneficiaries of the gesture by Anheuser-Busch in collaboration with 11 of its wholesaler partners and the National Volunteer Fire Council.

It involved the beer company temporarily abandoning a normal role of using its equipment for producing cans of beer to fill them with drinking water instead.

“We got a whole pallet full,” Chief Bruce Crigger of the Four Way Volunteer Fire Department in Flat Rock said Tuesday.

“It’s a great blessing to all the departments,” Crigger added regarding the 31 beneficiaries.

Other area units receiving cans of water include the State Road Volunteer Fire Department in western Surry, along with two in neighboring Stokes County, Lawsonville Volunteer Fire and Rescue and the South Stokes Fire Department.

In all, more than 72,900 cans of emergency drinking water recently were donated to fire departments in the state.

This was part of a larger nationwide effort to encourage disaster preparedness in local communities by arming volunteer personnel — who account for 65% of all U.S. firefighters — with critical resources that are often scarce due to limited budgets.

“It’s a great help,” Crigger, the Four Way fire chief, agreed in that regard. “And it’s delivered right to the station.”

Among the state Anheuser-Busch wholesaler network assisting with that aspect were R.H. Barringer Distributing Co., Adams Beverages Of NC, Budweiser Of Asheville Inc., Budweiser Of Sylva, Carolina Eagle Distributing and Harris Beverages.

A seasonal need

Throughout the summer, Anheuser-Busch and partners have been delivering 1.5 million cans of emergency drinking water to more than 630 volunteer fire departments across 44 states.

The donations are well-timed, with the need for firefighters to remain properly hydrated during extreme heat deemed critical. Water is heavily relied on when they are wearing bulky turnout gear while responding to blazes or during training exercises.

Some of the cases of water delivered to the Flat Rock fire station are being refrigerated to be ready when needed.

“And we’ve got coolers on each truck,” Crigger said.

He said the Four Way Volunteer Fire Department wasn’t selected as a water recipient for any special reason.

“You put in for it,” Crigger said of the donation. “And I’m assuming its first-come.”

Since 1988, Anheuser-Busch has contributed more than 90 million cans of emergency drinking water to volunteer fire departments.