The Merrill Fire Department (MFD) recently announced they received a 2023 Rewarding Responder Grant from the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation. “The $2,000 grant will be used to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for one of the department’s command vehicles,” MFD Chief Josh Klug said. “Having an AED on emergency vehicles is quite common. Our command vehicles are out on the road often and can respond to any sort of call for service in our community.”
“Early defibrillation of a patient with an AED before an ambulance arrives can mean the difference between life and death,” he said.
“It is our honor to support the brave men and women making our communities safer places for everyone over the past 10 years,” said Beth Straka, President of the WPS Foundation. “This program’s true reward lies in what doesn’t happen—the lives that remain unchanged, the moments we never have to remember—because our first responders had the lifesaving tools needed to make a difference.”