Travis County Emergency Services District 6, which oversees the Lake Travis Fire-Rescue (LTFR) was recognized for its statewide leadership.

The presentation was made Feb. 13 at the annual conference of the State Association of Fire and Emergency Services Districts (SAFE-D) in Conroe, Texas.

ESD 6 was named recipient of the annual Ladder Award, recognizing the district that most advanced the professionalism of all Texas emergency services districts. District officials, cooperating with State Rep. Valinda Bolton, worked during the 81st Legislature to give local residents the chance to provide additional resources for fire protection. “ESD 6 led the charge,” said SAFE-D President Don Grogg, “Emergency services districts were created to assure reliable funding for fire protection and emergency medical care.”
ESD 6 worked to raise the visibility with the state legislature for the need to re-evaluate funding models for ESDs. Currently, funding and taxation laws are designed only to support rural population densities. In urban and emerging suburban densities, additional resources are required to ensure the response times necessary to save lives and property.
“ESD worked to make sure that, even in tough economic times, those services don’t falter,” Grogg said. “Although the legislative effort fell short by two votes, ESD 6 efforts raised awareness of emergency services districts at the Legislature, and those efforts will have profound effect as the discussion continues.”
Accepting the Ladder Award were ESD No. 6 Commissioner Brad Ellis and LTFR Chief Jim Linardos. LTFR provides fire protection and emergency medical first-response to residents in more than 200 square miles of western Travis County.