SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Rural Fire District received a nearly $73,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) that will be used to install a new exhaust system in the bays of Station 1. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane said this new system will help capture the diesel smoke from the apparatuses and protect the firefighters. Without the grant, this upgrade at the department would not have been possible.
The primary goal of the AFG Program of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire-related hazards by providing direct financial assistance to eligible fire departments, nonaffiliated Emergency Medical Services organizations and State Fire Training Academies. This funding is for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiency, foster interoperability and support community resilience.
Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, the AFG Program has provided approximately $7.1 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much needed emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles and training.
The FY 2018 AFG Program will award another $315 million to first-responder organizations that need support to improve their capability to respond to fires and emergencies of all types.
Even since he became chief in the spring of 2018, Lane has been trying to do things to protect firefighters. Since cancer is one of the big killers of firefighters and one of leading causes of cancer is the contaminants from fire and diesel smoke contamination, Lane has been taking steps to make the Department a safer place for volunteers.
Earlier this year, the District purchased a turnout extractor, a heavy duty washing machine designed to clean the structural firefighters personal protective gear called turnouts. Lane also wanted a way to address harmful emissions from the apparatuses. Currently, the only way to vent the bays is to open up the doors and windows. The Department has tuned up the vehicles to help reduce harmful emissions and adopted various practices where they do as much work as possible outside. However, Lane still saw the need for an exhaust system so he applied for the AFG in October 2018.
“Without the grant we couldn’t get this done,” said Lane.
Fire departments operating in any of the 50 states, as well as fire departments in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization were eligible for the grant.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured $700 million for AFG and SAFER grants in 2018 – a $10 million increase over 2017.
Tester’s office said the grants are fairly competitive. The Seeley Lake Rural Fire District received the grant because they had a really compelling application. There have only been a few of these grants given in Montana but Tester’s office said more recipients will continue to be announced.
The District is responsible for just over $3,000, around five percent of the total cost. The grant pays for $72,676.19.
“When I was notified it just surprised me,” said Lane. “I’m excited that we are able to do this for our department.”
“When we ask our local firefighters to put their lives on the line, we better be sure we’re working as hard as we can to keep them safe while they’re doing it. These investments are critically important to that mission,” wrote Tester in an email. “I’m going to keep fighting to make sure fire departments in Seeley and across the state have the tools they need to get the job done.”
A complete list of grant recipients is available https://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grants-grantee-award-year-2018
Reader Comments(0)