SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo Fire Department on Friday accepted more than $25,000 in swiftwater rescue gear donated by the Rotary District 5840 Foundation and facilitated by the local Rotary Club, completing equipment for its full 16-member swiftwater rescue team.
The gear was officially received during a 9 a.m. ceremony at Central Fire Station, 306 W. 1st St.
Rotary Club Donates $25,000 Swiftwater Rescue Gear to San Angelo Fire Department
The donation outfits eight rescuers with personal flotation devices, dry suits, boots, gloves, helmets and whistles. The department already had boats and 16 trained team members.
Fire Chief Patrick Brody said the equipment fills a long-identified gap.
In September 2024, department members used a high-line rescue to save 12 people stranded in a tree during rapidly rising floodwaters in the county, an effort that earned one rescuer a statewide valor award. On July 4, 2025, the city saw flash flooding after 16 to 18 inches of rain fell in about two hours on the north side of town.
Rotary Club Donates $25,000 Swiftwater Rescue Gear to San Angelo Fire Department
Brody said the department had been working since the 2024 incident to secure funding, training and boats, but faced a gap in personal protective equipment.
“If the Rotary hadn’t stepped up, then it was going to be another year to two years before we could completely outfit a 16-member team,” he said.
The San Angelo Rotary Club, celebrating its 100th anniversary, was motivated by the July 4 flooding.
“It kind of woke our community up,” Rotary Club President Mason Brooks said.
Rotary Club Donates $25,000 Swiftwater Rescue Gear to San Angelo Fire Department
“Chief knows firsthand many of our club members volunteered, and then we sat around and said, ‘How can we make an impact on the next disaster?’" Brooks said. "So we applied for some grants and rounded this money up.”
Brody said the new gear, combined with the boats and trained personnel, allows the department to respond immediately to local flash-flood warnings instead of waiting for Texas Task Force 1 teams that could take hours to arrive from El Paso or San Antonio.
Brooks credited Rotary Vice President Vicki Terrill for bringing the idea forward and member Samye O’Neill for writing the grant application.
The donation aligns with the club’s focus on local service, he said. The group also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the city to adopt Rotary Park, formerly Mountain View Park, off Freeland Street.
You can watch our full interview with Brody and Brooks below:
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