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Berlin, NJ Firefighters to Receive New Personal Safety Equipment – Federal Grant will Fund Purchase

NEW YORK — The regional volunteer firefighting alliance in Berlin Borough and Berlin Township is currently operating with obsolete, 14-year-old safety equipment that is out of compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards.

The items to be replaced are self-contained breathing apparatuses at Berlin firehouses in both the Borough and Township. The Borough’s Fire Chief, William Behnke, and the Township’s Fire Chief, Joseph Jackson, Jr., say that the combined 47 SCBAs at both facilities have been subject to wear and tear over 14 to 15 years and “numerous documented failures.”

But thanks to an Assistance to Firefighters Grant totaling nearly $280,000.00 effective May 20, the two firehouses will be receiving 47 new SCBAs, each of which will consist of a harness/backpack, a face piece, and two breathing cylinders.

Chief Behnke reports that the two firehouses conducted a joint needs assessment and concluded that “replacing our old, obsolete, non-compliant, and failing SCBA is the highest priority for improving firefighter safety and operations in the region.”

Unlike the worn-out gear it will replace, the new equipment will be compatible with that used by neighboring firehouses. It will allow firefighters to communicate with each other, display the amount of cylinder air available, and provide access to “rapid intervention teams,” which rescue trapped firefighters. The equipment also has other technological features enhancing safety.

The total grant amounts to $293,750.00 with $13,988.00 being contributed locally.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the AFG program. Dale McShine, director of FEMA’s Region II Grants and National Preparedness Division, said she is pleased that the new equipment will have such a positive impact on the firefighters’ personal well-being. “If they’re not safe, their ability to protect residents is also at risk.”

Located in southwestern New Jersey, and with a population of some 16,000 residents, Berlin Borough responded to 854 alarms last year, while the Township answered 806.

Berlin Mayor James Bilella says that this grant is “truly significant to a small town like ours because it allows us to serve our population effectively.” He added, “Our volunteer first responders need updated, modern equipment to do their jobs safely.”

Tania Hedlund, FEMA’s Region II Branch Chief for grants, reports that in fiscal year 2014, the Region awarded 273 AFG awards totaling $95.6 million.

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Berlin, NJ Firefighters to Receive New Personal Safety Equipment – Federal Grant will Fund Purchase

Texas Receives More Than $2.2 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

DENTON, Texas — Fire departments and cities in Texas have received more than $2.2 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Since August, the grants have been awarded in 16 counties across the state, paying for everything from firefighting equipment to fire vehicles. Here’s how the grants break down by county:

Anderson County:
• City of Palestine Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $170,667

Caldwell County:
• Mic-County Volunteer Fire Department in Lockhart – communications equipment – $399,637

Collin County:
• Anna Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $28,572

Cooke County:
• Muenster Volunteer Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $78,572

Dallas County:
• Garland Fire Department – simulators and other equipment – $18,730

Fort Bend County:
• City of Stafford – firefighting equipment – $152,728

Gregg County:
• Kilgore Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $158,364

Grayson County:
• Van Alstyne Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $33,387

Harris County:
• City of Webster – thermal imaging camera – $23,620
• Eastex Freeway Volunteer Fire Department – communications equipment – $73,119

Hunt County:
• Cash Fire Department Assoc., Inc. in Greenville – $71,760

Kaufman County:
• City of Terrell Fire Department – firefighting and exercise equipment – $246,215

Kleberg County:
• Kingsville Fire Department – pumper truck – $362,728

McLennan County:
• Elm Mott Volunteer Fire and Rescue – vehicle extrication equipment – $31,429

Orange County:
• Orange County Emergency Services District #1 in Vidor – firefighting equipment – $173,993

Tarrant County:
• Richland Hills Fire Rescue – firefighting equipment – $41,214

Trinity County:
• Apple Springs Volunteer Fire Department – firefighting equipment – $53,143

Wood County:
• Quitman Fire & Rescue – firefighting equipment – $111,429

For more information on the AFG program, visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

Follow FEMA Region 6 on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6.

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Texas Receives More Than $2.2 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

Louisiana Receives More Than $1.1 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

DENTON, Texas — Fire Departments in Louisiana and Louisiana State University and A&M College have been awarded more than $1.1 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The grants cover everything from firefighting equipment to training including:

•   Firefighting equipment for Cullen Fire Protection District #6 – $50,972;
•   Firefighting equipment such as a hose, nozzles and ropes for the Hammond Fire Department – $46,364;
•   Firefighting equipment for the Lone Pine Fire Protection District in St. Landry – $56,949;
•   A pumper vehicle, vehicle extrication equipment and other firefighting equipment for the Milton Volunteer Fire Department in Youngsville – $326,877;
•   Two manufactured burn trailers and other equipment for Louisiana State University and A&M College in Baton Rouge – $360,870; and
•   600 each of boots, gloves and hoods for the New Orleans Fire Department – $278,728.

The federal grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program. The primary goal of the AFG is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders get critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. For more information on the AFG program, visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

Follow FEMA Region 6 on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6.

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Louisiana Receives More Than $1.1 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

Upstate NY Fire Department Replaces Worn Out Breathing Gear with Modern Apparatuses

Fire Chief Sees Boost in Confidence for Unit’s 10 Firefighters

New York, NY — The fire company of the Village of Delanson, located some 25 miles west of Albany, has been awarded 10 self-contained breathing apparatuses, or SCBAs. “This new equipment will take the place of 23-year-old gear whose straps were falling off and that used heavy steel packs that we had to lug around when confronted by a fire,” said Fire Chief Kevin Morrison. The company’s old equipment was also out of compliance with state safety regulations, he added.

The Delanson Fire Company, with 10 volunteer firefighters, serves a village of roughly 370 residents and responds to some 115 calls per year. “These SCBAs are a huge plus for the village and the department,” Chief Morrison said. “Not only are they equipped with distress signals that enable a firefighter to signal for help, but they also allow a comrade to provide oxygen from his or her own cylinder.

“On top of it all,” he said “we could not have afforded this lifesaving upgrade,” which is a big boost in confidence and morale for our volunteers.”

The SCBAs were provided by an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency’s grants director for Region II, Dale McShine, said in New York City today. The equipment’s cost is $56,650, with the federal share coming to $53,953. “Our AFG program has been aiding firefighters and other first responders since 2001,” said Ms. McShine. “It’s most gratifying to be able to help like this.”

“This grant provides resources to replace outdated equipment critical for the safety of our firefighters,” said Delanson Mayor Gayle Gifford. “We’re a very small community with a very small volunteer fire company. But big or small, all fire companies share the same goal: to protect and serve their communities’ citizens.”

Citing how paramount it is to keep responders protected, Mayor Gifford continued, “Thanks to FEMA’s AFG program, Delanson’s firefighters will now be properly shielded in their hazardous work.”

Tania Hedlund, FEMA’s regional Grants Branch Chief, explained that “the AFG program provides critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.”

In 2013, the AFG provided funding of $21.9 million to 192 Fire Departments and EMS agencies throughout Region II, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. For the first time ever, funding was awarded to a State Fire Training Academy in the region: the NYS State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

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

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Upstate NY Fire Department Replaces Worn Out Breathing Gear with Modern Apparatuses

Pagers, Radios Awarded To Ambulance Company in Schuyler, NY – Federal Grant Adds Communications Gear and Replaces Borrowed Equipment

New York, NY — Currently, the 25 members of Herkimer County’s volunteer Schuyler Ambulance Inc. learn of and respond to an emergency by means of five pagers and two portable radios, all borrowed from the Schuyler Volunteer Fire Company. In addition, should dispatched members need to contact the county dispatch center or a hospital they must use personal cell phones or the single mobile radio phone in the ambulance, creating uneven reliability in their communications, as well as frequently interrupting patient care.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, however, has awarded the ambulance company a grant of $10,328.00 to purchase 15 pagers and four portable radios to enhance the ambulance company’s communications.

The award’s announcement was made at here today at Region II of FEMA, which administers the AFG program, by Dale Mc Shine, Director of the region’s Grants Division. The local contribution to the grant was $543.00.

“The grant obviously adds a good deal to our communications efficiency, which has a direct impact on the health and well-being of our patients and we’re grateful for it,” said Anthony Pagliaro, the ambulance company’s Emergency Medical Services Director. He pointed out also that the new pagers and radios will be “P-25 compliant,” which means that they will use less bandwidth and put them in line with the FCC’s narrow-banding requirement, while increasing interoperability with other agencies.”

“It also strengthens the company’s self-sufficiency,” he was quick to add, “because this new equipment will be our own. Borrowing radios and pagers from our fire company makes us dependent and leaves them with no pagers or spare radios if one of theirs goes out of service.”

The primary operating area for the ambulance company is the town of Schuyler, which has a population of some 3,500. Mutual aid agreements extend to other townships and parts of Utica, in Oneida County, expanding the ambulance company’s total responsibility to a population to roughly 40,000. Schuyler Ambulance Inc. has been successfully recruiting new members, and has added ten new members with higher levels of medical proficiency, bringing the total to 25 volunteers.

“Solid communications are at the heart of emergency response,” FEMA’s McShine said, “and this grant highlights the AFG’s role in building and maintaining that capability.”

Mr. Pagliaro said that the new radios will be issued to the company Emergency Medical Services Director and the Assistant Director of Operations for their use. The other two radios will be kept inside the ambulance itself for use by the crew. The pagers will be given to the crew, most of whom will be able to take them home. “That will virtually eliminate the need to use personal cell phones on duty,” he added.

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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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Pagers, Radios Awarded To Ambulance Company in Schuyler, NY – Federal Grant Adds Communications Gear and Replaces Borrowed Equipment

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Receive More Than $1.6 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

DENTON, Texas — Emergency management agencies in five states – Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas – have been awarded more than $1.6 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In Arkansas, the grants total $149,515 and cover:

• Stretchers, backboards and splints for the El Dorado Fire Department;
• Firefighting equipment for the Grubbs Volunteer Fire Department and the Oden-Pencil Bluff Volunteer Fire Department; and
• Generators, radios and other tools for the Maddox Bay Rural Fire Department in Holly Grove.

The grants in Louisiana total $509,022 and pay for firefighting equipment for the Forest Volunteer Fire Department in Oak Grove; the Elizabeth Volunteer Fire Department; the Des Allemands Volunteer Fire Department; the Bayou Boeuf Volunteer Fire Department in Thibodaux; the St. Landry Fire District #7 in Morrow and the Washington Parish Fire District #7.

In New Mexico, grants totaling $120,016 cover firefighting equipment for the Ohkay Owingeh Fire Department and the Newkirk Fire Department in Santa Rosa, and health screenings and physicals for the Santa Fe Fire Department.

The Oklahoma grants total $637,349 and pay for:

• A pumper/engine vehicle for the Madill Fire Department;
• A tanker vehicle for the Warner Volunteer Fire Department;
• Firefighting equipment for the city of Ada Fire Department;
• Communications equipment for the William Key Correctional Center Fire Department; and
• A training tower for the State Fire Training Academy at Oklahoma State University.

In Texas, the grants total $202,778 and pay for firefighting equipment for the Tennessee Colony Volunteer Fire Department, the Blossom Fire Department and the Balcones Heights Fire Department in San Antonio.

For more information on the AFG program, visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

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Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Receive More Than $1.6 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

New York State Fire Training Facility Granted New, Fully Equipped Truck

Replaces 39-Year Old Vehicle Used to Train NYS Firefighters

New York, NY — The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) has received a federal grant to purchase a new, well outfitted fire truck that will be used in the training of New York State’s firefighters that attend training at the New York State Academy of Fire Science, FEMA’s Ms. Dale McShine announced here today.

As Director of FEMA’s Grants Division in New York, which administers the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program for Region II, Ms. McShine said that the grant was for $382,000, and totaled $450,000 with the local share of $67,500.

New York State is home to approximately 1786 municipal fire departments in the state, staffed by roughly 96,100 volunteer firefighters and 18,500 career personnel, according to Deputy Chief David Martinichio of OFPC’s Fire Operations and Training Branch. Through a network of 400 part-time instructors and 120 full-time fire protection specialists, OFPC annually trains 40,000 – 50,000 firefighters per year with 6,000 to 7,000 attending the residential fire training facility, located in Schuyler County.

The1975 vehicle no longer met current requirements, Deputy Chief Martinichio said, adding that “the condition of the vehicle and the high cost of repairs made it unsafe and too costly to keep in service.” The new engine has a six-person cab, can pump 1500 gallons per minute, and has an array of modern ladders, and other up-to-date equipment, all of which meet the criteria of the National Fire Protection Association.

DHSES Commissioner Jerome M. Hauer said, “I am pleased that the Office of Fire Prevention and Control is able to take advantage of the Assistance for Firefighters Grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Training is an integral part of any firefighter’s toolkit and having state of the art equipment for this purpose will allow New York’s firefighters to improve their skills to better aid the communities they serve.”

FEMA’s Dale McShine said that the AFG program has been aiding firefighters and other first responders since 2001, “providing critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources” needed to help the public and emergency responders from fire and related hazards. “This award to New York State’s Fire Training Program, with its considerable reach,” she said, “is especially gratifying.”

State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens added, “the new engine will be a welcome addition to the current cadre of fire apparatus utilized at the Academy of Fire Science and will allow us to continue to provide the quality training that New York’s firefighters expect and deserve”.

“This is the first year that state fire training academies have been eligible to apply for AFG awards,” the Academy’s Assistant Business Officer Kathyrene O’Connor pointed out, adding that provisions for grants to academies allow a maximum of $500,000 per award for equipment, personal protective equipment, or vehicles, with a 15 percent match from the state. “This is a significant development,” she said, “because it allows us to make our training all the more effective, along with enhancing the safety of the students attending the program.”

Tania Hedlund, FEMA’s Branch Chief for Grants, reported that, 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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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New York State Fire Training Facility Granted New, Fully Equipped Truck

Federal Grants to Local Fire Departments Offer Up-to-Date Equipment and Training to Stations Large and Small

New York, NY — The Atlantic City Fire Department has some 250 full-time firefighters and six fire stations serving a southern New Jersey population of 40,000. The department received last month a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) of almost $490,000 to replace personal protective equipment ravaged by Hurricane Sandy and years of on-the-job use. The local share of the grant brought the total to $543,400.

This week, the Milmay Volunteer Fire Company, in an unincorporated community of 1,500 in Buena Vista Township, also in Atlantic County, was awarded a similar bounty. It received $9,168 (local share $482) to replace its deteriorated personal protective equipment for its 20 volunteers: boots, helmets, hoods, gloves, coats, and pants, all at least 15 years old. Fire Chief Eric Hensel said, “the rubber on the boots was cracked, the helmets outfitted with non-adjustable headbands, straps frayed, and the gloves contaminated with soot or grease.”

Chief Hensel added that, “not only was our equipment old, but we were suffering financially from a straight-line wind storm that occurred several years ago. It tore the roof off of our 70-year-old fire house, and caused some $500,000 in damage.” Insurance helped, he said, but it left the department with little cash.

The Director of Grants for Region II of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Dale McShine, announced the Milmay grant at regional headquarters here today. FEMA administers the AFG program, she said, “and it is most gratifying that these awards help firefighters protect their communities, of whatever size, and whether or not they are full-time or volunteers.”

“All of our firefighters are volunteers and we have a small community and a small budget,” Chief Hensel said. “And regardless of a fire company’s size, you still face the same issues: one person’s injury or life lost is the same. This grant will help us do our jobs,” he added.

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

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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Federal Grants to Local Fire Departments Offer Up-to-Date Equipment and Training to Stations Large and Small

New Jersey Fire Department to Replace 10-Year Old Breathing Mechanisms

Federal Grant Provides Upgraded Gear to Irvington Township

New York, NY, July 31, 2014 – Irvington Township will receive 28 self-contained breathing apparatuses to replace outdated equipment that no longer meets National Fire Protection Association standards, and for which maintenance and upkeep costs have been estimated as high as $40,000 annually.

The preponderance of the funding for the new equipment will come from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), a unit of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. AFG will contribute $157,878, while the local share amounts to $17,542.

The announcement was made here today by Dale McShine, Grants Director for FEMA, Region II.

“Our training dictates that we must preserve all that is valuable in this community, which means ensuring that we can trust our equipment,” says Deputy Fire Chief Randy Wuest. He went on to say that “between 2010 and 2012 the department worked an average of 250 structural fires a year – almost three fires every four days, and we depend on this equipment in every one of these incidents.”

Among other features, the new breathing equipment will enable individual Township firefighters to read displays of remaining breathing air, explains Chief Wuest. He points out also that the new equipment will save the department a considerable amount in maintenance costs.

Serving some 54,000 residents, the Irvington Township Fire Department currently employs 114 full-time career firefighters who work 24-hours on, 72-hours off shifts. The department has three stations and staffs four engine companies and two ladder companies at all times.

“We are very appreciative of the grant provided to the Township of Irvington by the AFG,” said Mayor Tony Vauss. “The safety of our firefighters and our citizens is of the utmost importance to us. These funds will go a long way in promoting this goal.”

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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New Jersey Fire Department to Replace 10-Year Old Breathing Mechanisms