On National First Responders Day, celebrated annually on Oct. 28, Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) is saluting those who are always prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty to keep others safe.

So far this year, MPC has invested $730,000 in grants for public safety programs and partnerships with over 100 first responding agencies in the many communities we proudly call home. The grants will help the recipients expand their abilities to make a life-saving difference.

Those investments include a joint grant from the Canton refinery and Canton terminal in Ohio for $25,000 to the Canton Fire Department. The fire department, which has a history of participating in joint training and deployment models with the refinery and terminal, is using the funds to purchase technical rescue equipment.

“Providing us the funding for these items will ensure we are prepared to continue our commitment and support to the Marathon refinery and terminal when called upon,” said Canton Township Fire Department Assistant Chief Rick Morabito. “All of the equipment will be dual-purposed for rendering services to the Canton Township community and mutual aid partners.”

MPC’s Robinson, Illinois, refinery provided a $20,000 grant to the City of Robinson Police Department to replace the department’s aging computer server and software that is used in the daily operations of all Crawford County Emergency Services, including 911 communications.

The hardware and operating system licenses were out of date and needed to be updated. This grant will help to update the server for the dispatch and the GIS system, integrating both into the same piece of hardware.

“On behalf of the entire Robinson Police Department, we want to thank Marathon Petroleum for their continued support to ensure we are equipped with the tools and resources those we serve depend on every day,” said Robinson Police Chief Chad Weaver.

In September, MPC’s St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery, which sits along the Mississippi River, presented the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Twin Cities Division with a $10,000 donation to help support the all-volunteer segment of the U.S. Coast Guard with its efforts to protect the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities Region.

“It truly takes a team effort to keep our operations and a navigation system like the mighty Mississippi River safe,” said John Wright, Fire Chief at the St. Paul Park refinery. “We work closely with multiple public safety agencies to accomplish that shared mission, including the auxiliary division of the U.S. Coast Guard to assist one another if and when called upon.”