City officials in Bluefield announced several grant awards Thursday to the police, fire, and animal control departments from the Community Foundation of the Virginias and other organizations for personal protective equipment and to update other essential equipment.
The Bluefield Police Department submitted a grant application to the Community Foundation of the Virginias earlier this year and was recently awarded $5,000 for the purchase of new ballistic vests for their officers.
The city of Bluefield Fire Department received a total of $14,350 for the purchase of new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); SCBA masks for 16 firefighters from the Community Foundation of the Virginias, The Tierney Foundation, 1912 Foundation, the Smoot Foundation and Corte Foundation.