Grants Office: 2007 Interoperability Grants: Success Story

March 14, 2005-- Brevard County Fire Rescue, Florida will receive a financial boost to help out with local homeland security training and readiness.

The $248,615 federal grant was awarded to the 300-firefighter agency by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness and is part of $748 million distributed to fire departments nationwide.

The funds will be used to bolster training, provide new personal protective equipment and make modifications to the county's fire stations which stretch the county from Mims to Barefoot Bay.

March 4, 2005--A $329,000 federal grant will allow the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District to replace and upgrade a variety of tools and equipment, Asst. Fire Chief Dave Wahl said.

The district inherited a variety of older, outdated and mismatched tools and equipment when three fire agencies merged to form the East Contra Costa district in 2002, Wahl said.

The district has 55 firefighters and administrative employees, and 48 paid on-call firefighters.

The grant is from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters program, which helps fire departments buy equipment, enhance emergency medical services and support firefighter health and safety programs, according to U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo's office.

The East County district competed among 20,400 fire agencies nationwide that requested nearly $2.7 billion in assistance, Philbin said. Congress designated only $750 million in aid.

A large portion of the grant will help pay for dispatch and communications upgrade, Wahl said. The district's fire engines will be equipped with laptop computers connected to the Contra Costa Fire Department's regional communication center.

When the new system is online in early April, the regional center will track all vehicle locations, and dispatch engines more quickly and efficiently, Wahl said.

"It's a tremendous upgrade to the communications system ... and it will enhance the services we provide to all citizens," Wahl said.

March 3, 2005--Bowling Green firefighters may have better communication thanks to a new federal grant.

The Bowling Green Fire Department received a $320,175 grant from the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program on Friday.

The money will help firefighters buy equipment enabling hands-free communication during an emergency, Capt. John Weatherbee said.

A communications system would be installed in firetrucks, which provides a headset for firefighters to hear their radio more clearly, Weatherbee said. The headset would also protect firefighters' hearing.

Firefighters will also receive an updated personal communications system. Before the grant, firefighters had to press a button on their radios to speak to other firefighters, he said.

Voice-activated radios embedded in the firefighters' air masks will allow simultaneous communication.

The grant will also purchase mobile data computers for fire trucks, which will improve emergency response time, Fire Chief Gerry Brown said.

Information on building floor plans and locations of hazardous materials in the city will be loaded onto the computers to help fire trucks better respond to emergencies, he said.

Global positioning satellite technology will also help direct fire trucks better by calling the fire truck nearest to the emergency, Brown said.

The fire department has received $712,740 from the grant in the past three years, Weatherbee said.

Firefighter Bret Smith and Weatherbee wrote the grant application. Smith said Bowling Green's fire department is in better financial shape than most departments in the country.

Weatherbee said he'll continue applying for grants in hopes to purchase thermal imaging cameras for every firefighter in Bowling Green.

"There are still tremendous possibilities out there," he said.

November 12, 2004--Bay City, Michigan-Garfield Township firefighters who are trying to stop the spread of brush and forest fires next summer will find things just a bit cooler, thanks to a grant for new equipment.

U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, announced the award as part of the federal Homeland Security department's Assistance to Firefighter program.

August 27, 2004-- WOODLAND, NJ- For the first time in its history, the Lebanon Lakes Volunteer Fire Co. has a new fire truck. For 34 years, the firefighters have relied on hand-me-downs and used vehicles from other departments to protect this sparsely populated wooded community deep in the Pinelands.

Last week, Lebanon Lakes put its 2004 Central States Rosen-bauer pumper truck into service. The white truck with blue and red stripes was custom-built in South Dakota.

"Just watching the eyes of the firefighters when it arrived was amazing," said Capt. Mike Coleman, president of the fire company. "They were like little kids on Christmas morning. It's hard to describe the feeling we have. It's been a long time coming."

Several of the firefighters took a few days off from work to help equip and train on the new apparatus, said Chief Tom Toth.

Work on the truck really began more than a year ago, when the fire company applied for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Last December, FEMA awarded the company a $198,000 grant for the purchase of the 1,500-gallon pumper.

U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) Wednesday announced that two volunteer fire departments in Cherokee County will receive federal funding to assist with the purchase of firefighting vehicles. These funds are available for a variety of vehicles including trucks, ambulances, aerials and fireboats. Details of the funding are as follows: $135,000 - Gaylesville Volunteer Fire Department $153,000 - Leesburg Volunteer Fire Department These funds have been awarded by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness, as a part of the Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program.

Frist, Alexander Applaud Grant Funding For Fire Departments:
City Of Red Bank, TN, Among Grant Recipients

WASHINGTON - June 16, 2004 -- U.S. Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $73,352 grant to the City of Red Bank Fire Department, under the 2004 Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program.

The program provides grants to help local fire departments purchase new firefighting equipment, fund firefighter health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical services programs and conduct fire prevention and safety programs.

“Our first responders must be equipped to do their job and this funding will help ensure they have the resources necessary to keep communities in Red Bank safe,” said Frist. “This funding is an investment in Tennessee, and I applaud the Department of Homeland Security for supporting the critical work of our firefighters.”

“Senator Frist and I appreciate the Department of Homeland Security's investment in the Red Bank community for emergency preparedness," Alexander said. "This grant will help give firefighters the vital resources they need to save lives. We will continue to work together to ensure that they have the necessary resources to keep our citizens safe.”

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) awards one-year grants directly to fire departments to support the nation's firefighters and the services they deliver. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) administers the program, in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

PACKWOOD -- The Federal Emergency Managament Agency has awarded $41,850 to the Polk-Packwood Volunteer Fire Department through the Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant Program.

The funds, whch are part of $185,850 announced by FEMA for a total of three fire departments in Iowa, can be used to train firefighting personnel, establish wellness and fitness programs for firefighters, and purchase firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment.

The funding is part of the second round of firefighter grants made in fiscal 2004. The program will distribute $750 million to local fire departments in 2004 to improve the effectiveness of firefighter operations, firefighter health and safety programs, and to establish or expand fire prevention programs. According to FEMA, more than 20,000 applications for grant awards were made this year.

Healthier, fitter firefighters: PORTAGE, IN: Grant will be used to help assure wellness, fitness for firefighters

May 13, 2004 -- PORTAGE -- The Portage Fire Department spends thousands of dollars each year maintaining its ambulances and fire trucks.

But other than a physical upon hiring and a couple of annual medical tests, there's nothing comparable spent on its employees to keep them healthy and fit.

That's about to change.

With the assistance of a $125,000 federal Fire Act Grant, the Portage department is embarking on a new program aimed to keep its 59 active members healthier.

"We don't spend anything on our people. We expect to get 20 to 25 years from our people. We need to take better care of them," Chief Tim Sosby said. He's hoping the program eventually will reduce lost time due to injuries, provide a greater longevity on the department and reduce health care costs.

The grant funds will be used two-fold, to both maintain and improve the wellness and physical fitness of department members. The money will be used to provide medical examinations for each member as well as to provide fitness evaluations and the development of individual health programs for members. The funds also will provide comparable, safe fitness equipment at each of the city's three stations for member's use.

This week, 10 of the department's members are being trained as peer fitness trainers. After certification, they'll be able to assist other members in implementing their individual fitness program.

The training is being done by Public Safety Medical Services of Indianapolis.

"A firefighter today is considered an industrial athlete," said Shawn Shelton, a lieutenant with the Indianapolis Fire Department, who is teaching the class along with Darrell Mendenhall of Public Safety Medical Services. "We want to be able to do our job task when called upon, but also want a healthy retirement."

While medical and fitness evaluations will be mandatory for personnel, fitness training will not be mandated.

Local 3151 President Andy Himann said department members are excited about the new program.

"It is a national trend," he said. "Firefighters are younger, and these guys are thinking about keeping themselves in shape."

May 5, 2004 -- Firefighters soon may be sleeping easier because of a new diesel exhaust system.

Management Agency for breathing apparatus and the diesel exhaust system. To receive the grant, the city had to match 10 percent of the amount, or $23,700, from the city safety fund.

In conjunction with some of the grant money, City Council introduced legislation Tuesday allowing $6,300 from the safety committee fund to be used for a new diesel exhaust system at the three city fire stations.

"This is a health and safety issue for our firefighters since diesel fumes are cancer causing," said Fire Chief Terri Kovach.

Kovach said the exhaust system uses a flexible hose which attaches to each fire truck's exhaust and draws the fumes outside. She said the hose then automatically detaches when the trucks pull out of the fire house.

Without the exhaust system, Kovach said the fumes rise into the sleeping quarters of the firemen above the trucks. Because of the fumes, the sliding poles from the sleeping quarters to the garage also have been closed off.

Kovach said the new exhaust system may allow the poles to be used again, but no decision has yet been made. She also said the grant money will be used to purchase at least 25 sets, one for each firefighter, of self-contained breathing apparatuses and extra air tanks.

The chief said the fire department needs an air-filling station for the breathing devices and a new air compressor.

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Massachusetts Fire Department gets $96K for equipment

April 9, 2004, EAST BRIDGEWATER, MA— The East Bridgewater Fire Department received nearly $100,000 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program in the latest round of grants to fire departments throughout the country.

The department received $96,363 that will be used to purchase 25 self-contained breathing apparatuses, Fire Chief Ryon T. Pratt said.

"The self-contained breathing apparatus is one of the most important pieces of equipment a firefighter must have," Pratt said.

Deputy Chief Robert Fairburn wrote the grant application and is currently working on a grant from the same program that would be used to purchase a fire truck, he said.

"Fiscal times have been difficult, and I don't see it getting significantly better in the short term," Pratt said. "We need to make every effort to secure funds for the various needs of the department."

The self-contained breathing units and the fire truck are on a prioritized list sent to the chairman of the Capital Planning Improvements Committee, Pratt said.

"Being able to take that request off the list and from the town was our hope," Pratt said.

In addition to the self-contained breathing apparatuses, the department will purchase other self-contained units used to rescue trapped firefighters, Pratt said.

Other local communities that received funds in the latest round of grants through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program include Berkley Fire and Rescue Department, $61,722; Brockton Fire Department, $99,266; Carver Fire Department, $128,281; Holbrook Fire Department, $40,302; Norton Fire Department, $8,775; Onset Fire Department, $83,772; Rockland Fire and Rescue Department, $211,500; Taunton Fire Department, $66,570, and Wareham Fire Department, $184,983.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is administered by the U.S. Fire Administration, which is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The funds are used to purchase firefighting equipment, fund firefighter health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical services programs and conduct fire prevention and safety programs.

Since last June, 7,800 fire department have received almost $619 million to support their role as first responders in the communities they serve.

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Santa Clara Fire Department receives grant from FEMA

March 24, 2004 -- Santa Clara's all-volunteer fire department has received a $63,780 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"I'm excited and pleased about this," Mayor Joan Atencio told the Daily Press. "The fire chief's reaction was similar; we're just all so excited."

The grant was awarded in January from FEMA's Assistance to Fire Fighters Program. The funds will be used to purchase personal safety equipment for firefighters and to expand the department's wellness and fitness program, according to Atencio.

Among the items slated for purchase are 10 sets of turnout gear, including hats, pants, boots and goggles. The gear will cost the department $2,000 per set. Also being purchased are six 60-minute self-contained breathing apparatuses with a price tag of $4,500 each; six 60-minute spare cylinders, about $1,500 each; six $350 respiratory masks; and six $850 pack alert motionless kits, which alert rescue personnel when a firefighter becomes injured in a fire.

Pricilla Lucero, with the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, helped the department file for the grant in April.

"This grant helps the department bring their equipment to the National Fire Safety Protection Agency standards," Lucero said. "Most of their equipment was more than 20 years old, was obsolete and did not meet the standards of NFSPA."

The funds are part of a $750 million Homeland Security grant, she said.

"Firefighter safety is a priority for FEMA now," Lucero said.

The Santa Clara Fire Department had applied for the grant twice before and was denied, according to Lucero.

"This grant receives more than 20,000 applications for funding from across the country," she said. "In 2000, there was only $100 million available; in 2001, only $300 million was available. In 2002, there was $750 million available."

The department requested $72,734 in funding, but Lucero said the granting agency reduced the amount as turnout gear has become less expensive in recent months.

To expand the department's wellness and fitness program, the department will purchase a treadmill and Bowflex machine for firefighter use, according to Lucero.

With a crew of 17 firefighters, the Fire Department averages about 200 calls per year. The department responds to structure, vehicle and vegetation fires, Lucero said.

Calls for emergency medical service account for more than half of the department's call volume, she added.

Source: Silver City Daily Press, NM

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Fire Captain Hauling in Grant Cash for County

March 14, 2004 - Butte County Fire/CDF Capt. Darren Read has quietly hauled in over $1.3 million in grants for local fire departments over the last couple of years. And it's not even part of his job.

Stationed at Robinson Mill, a fire station near the Butte County line above Oroville, Read does his job. Technically, grant writing isn't part of it.

But this year, his work has meant $297,789 for the Butte County Fire Department, plus $49,815 for Gridley and $27,383 for Biggs in Federal Emergency Management Agency grants alone.

The county used the cash this year to buy 100 units of a new self-contained breathing apparatus, enough so every firefighter entering an "immediate danger to life and health atmosphere" should have one, Read said.

Biggs used it to buy fitness equipment and hand-held radios. Gridley did the same.

The grants are part of a federal program to assist firefighters.

After the county's match, it means an additional $425,425 for the county's firefighting equipment. Last year, it was $394,200, all of which went for personal protective equipment like helmets, gloves and masks that helps keep firefighters safe while they're doing their jobs.

"There's a lot of old equipment out there. The state has no program for funding for equipment that we need and don't have," he said.

But grant writing isn't part of his job. And it isn't something he does for fun.

"It's quite a lengthy process," he said. "I've gotten five of them in the last three years."

Although he did take a class on the subject, he said he considers it a self-taught skill. The class emphasized developing a program, then finding the funding for it.

He found out about the FEMA grants from "surfing the Web," and learns about others from magazines.

He seems a little reluctant to acknowledge it, but Capt. Read has gotten state awards for his grant writing skills.

"I've gotten a superior accomplishment award from the state the last two years in a row, actually," he said.

October 28, 2003 - FEMA Fire Program Specialist Lori Bainbridge presents an Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) award check in the amount of $173,212 to Wilmington , Del. Mayor James M. Baker (left) and Fire Chief James W. Ford, Jr. (center). This is the departments third award under the AFGP. The 2003 award will be used to support a new wellness and fitness program. Additionally, the grant will allow for the purchase of SCBA with integrated PASS devices, portable radios, thermal imaging cameras and fire hose. Also at the ceremony were representatives of the International Association of Fire Fighters, who presented the department with a $5,000 check to assist with the match for the 2002 award.

San Luis Obispo City Fire Department received $412,200 from the 2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for the purchase of an enhanced communications system. Mayor Romero stated, "This grant will allow us to establish clear communications between our agency personnel and mutual aid resources throughout this county and the state". Pictured left to right are: Fire Chief Wolf Knabe, Council members Ken Schwartz and Christine Mulholland, Mayor Dave Romero, and the grant team - Viv Dilts, Jeremy Dold, Kerri Rosenblum, and Steve Schmidt.

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