Huron County Fire Departments awarded grant for new equipment
Several city and village fire departments in Huron County are being rewarded with grant money to help with the purchase of new equipment.
Each year the Federal Emergency Management Agency gives a number of grants to different divisions of health, safety, and emergency responses. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed resources that are necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards since 2001.
Each year, the grant is awarded to several cities and villages across the country. Cities fill out an application and register under the System for Award Management before applying for the grant. Just this year, FEMA has made 2007 awards, totaling to $717.1 million in grants.
Six different Huron County fire departments decided to team up together to be awarded the regional grant. The county received more than $732,454 in total from the program, as each village's fire department will receive funding to purchase new equipment. The new equipment consists of self-contained breathing apparatus-style air packs.
“Our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our families, homes, and communities,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a press release. “These new resources will provide critical training for our first responders to help them better serve the public and do their jobs more safely and effectively.”
The fire departments to receive the new equipment are: Bad Axe Fire Department, Bingham Township Fire Department, Caseville Fire Department, Harbor Beach Fire Department, Port Austin Fire Department, Sherman Township Fire Department, and Sigel Township Fire Department.
“It’s some much needed equipment,” Harbor Beach Fire Chief Jason Lermont said. “It’s extremely important for us and the safety of our firefighters.”
The new self-contained breathing apparatus allows for firefighters to go deeper into dangerous environments. The fire departments will also receive new air packs that have built in path alarms, with the ability to notify other first responders when a firefighter isn’t responding within 30 seconds. Another piece of equipment is a pack tracker, which will send a signal to a handheld device to notify when firefighters are in danger or go down.
“It is critical that firefighters and first responders have the adequate training, medical support, and up-to-date equipment to continue doing their jobs safely and effectively,” Sen. Gary Peters said. “These grants will ensure that fire departments and emergency responders have the resources necessary to protect the first responders and those they serve in their communities.”
