Post by admin on Jan 31, 2009 19:56:21 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20090129/COMMUNITY/901290412/1285/LOCAL09
FREEHOLD — A recently-awarded federal grant will allow the Freehold Fire Department to replace 75 percent of its breathing equipment.
The fire department has been awarded a grant of $123,975 through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, which provides funding to first responders for response equipment, personal protective equipment and vehicles, according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.
The grant will go toward the purchase of 30 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus, which will replace aging equipment, said Freehold Fire Department Chief Jack Reichman. The grant will cover 95 percent of the equipment's cost; the department will pay the remaining five percent, Reichman said.
The department currently has 40 sets of equipment for 98 volunteers, Reichman said.
Much of that equipment is 13 or 14 years old and will need to be replaced due to new federal guidelines placing a 15-year shelf life on breathing apparatus. Replacing so many sets of breathing equipment would have been a hardship for the fire department, he said.
Reichman credited a grant writer hired to work on the department's application with their success. The department has been applying for grant funding for four years, he said.
The panel charged with awarding grants took into consideration that the equipment would be shared among the fire department's four companies, and that the town has an old housing stock vulnerable to fires, said Smith's spokesman, Jeff Sagnip.
"We are an old state . . . It's a common concern that there has to be a rapid-quality fire service," Sagnip said.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program was created in 2000. Since 2004, the program has provided more than $2.7 billion to first responders, according to Sagnip.
Recent recipients also include the Allenhurst Fire Department, which received $118,750 for vehicle acquisition; Holmdel Fire Co. 1, which was awarded $61,537 for personal protective equipment; and the Asbury Park Fire Department, which received $68,044 for equipment and training, according to the grant program's Web site.
Kim Predham:
(732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
FREEHOLD — A recently-awarded federal grant will allow the Freehold Fire Department to replace 75 percent of its breathing equipment.
The fire department has been awarded a grant of $123,975 through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, which provides funding to first responders for response equipment, personal protective equipment and vehicles, according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.
The grant will go toward the purchase of 30 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus, which will replace aging equipment, said Freehold Fire Department Chief Jack Reichman. The grant will cover 95 percent of the equipment's cost; the department will pay the remaining five percent, Reichman said.
The department currently has 40 sets of equipment for 98 volunteers, Reichman said.
Much of that equipment is 13 or 14 years old and will need to be replaced due to new federal guidelines placing a 15-year shelf life on breathing apparatus. Replacing so many sets of breathing equipment would have been a hardship for the fire department, he said.
Reichman credited a grant writer hired to work on the department's application with their success. The department has been applying for grant funding for four years, he said.
The panel charged with awarding grants took into consideration that the equipment would be shared among the fire department's four companies, and that the town has an old housing stock vulnerable to fires, said Smith's spokesman, Jeff Sagnip.
"We are an old state . . . It's a common concern that there has to be a rapid-quality fire service," Sagnip said.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program was created in 2000. Since 2004, the program has provided more than $2.7 billion to first responders, according to Sagnip.
Recent recipients also include the Allenhurst Fire Department, which received $118,750 for vehicle acquisition; Holmdel Fire Co. 1, which was awarded $61,537 for personal protective equipment; and the Asbury Park Fire Department, which received $68,044 for equipment and training, according to the grant program's Web site.
Kim Predham:
(732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com