Michigan National Guardsmen are no longer distributing bottled water at three Flint fire stations as part of the state response to the water crisis.
Just before noon, guardsmen loaded pallets of the cases of bottled water onto trucks behind Flint Fire Station #8.
For months, this was one of five Flint fire stations where residents went to pick up bottled water and filters. But the city is transitioning to nine neighborhood giveaway sites manned by paid employees.
Staff Sergeant Thomas Vega says it’s a sign of progress in the Flint water crisis.
“For us to be able to turn it over to them is absolutely a victory,” says Vega.
National Guardsmen are still handing out water and filters at the fire station on Martin Luther King Ave. However, the guardsmen will leave that too once all the new distribution sites are up and running.
More than 300 Michigan National Guardsmen were deployed in Flint earlier this year.
By the end of this week, the National Guard deployment will be down to 25 guardsmen.
They should be gone by the end of the month.
