Grant to Replace Obsolete Firefighting Equipment in New Jersey’s Upper Deerfield Township

New York, NY, August 7, 2014 – Thirty-six self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) will replace outmoded equipment used by three regional fire companies in Upper Deerfield Township, in New Jersey’s northern Cumberland County, it was announced here today by Ms. Dale McShine, Director of Grants for Region II of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

The life-saving equipment will be provided through a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), a FEMA program.  The federal grant’s value was $243,948; the local share was $12,197.

The townships’ fire companies currently have 39 SCBAs, only three of which meet today’s National Fire Protection Association criteria for use.  According to Dave Rogers, Sr., Chief of Fire Co. 3, the new equipment will not only be in line with NFPA requirements but will also increase firefighters’ breathing time to 45 minutes from 30. 

Chad Ott, Township Liaison to the fire companies, said that the new SCBAs are equipped, too, with a “dual buddy breath” capability that “enables two firefighters to breathe out of the same cylinder in the event that one of the SCBA devices has a failure allowing the firefighters to exit the building safely.  This is a major step forward for the priority of safety.”

Echoing the firefighters’ sentiment about the primary role of safety, James P. Crilley, mayor of Upper Deerfield Township, said “the economic importance of this grant is also considerable.”  In this economy, it would have taken us several years or so to put together enough funds to implement this significant contribution to our residents’ and firefighters’safety.”

FEMA’s AFG program has been aiding firefighters and other first responders since 2001.  “The program provides critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards, said Tania Hedlund, FEMA’s Grants Branch Chief.  In 2012, the AFG provided funding of $25,340,000 for FEMA’s Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

For further information, please contact William H. Douglass at FEMA:  212-680-3665 or 917-561-3223.

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