Mass. fire departments win grants to update rescue gear

The Berkshire Eagle

LENOX, Mass. — By winning a competitive, national grant for federal funding to boost public safety in local communities, the Lenox Fire Department will be able to replace its outmoded air packs, called self-contained breathing apparatus, that are more than 20 years old. Also, the Great Barrington ambulance squad won money to buy protective gear.

Lenox Fire Chief Daniel Clifford said the $128,440 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be used to buy 26 new units.

The new air packs are "lighter, ergonomic for the firefighters, and they have the most up-to-date safety features," he said.

Clifford said he and three of his officers wrote the successful application for the Firefighters' Assistance Grant Program, which covers protective equipment, enhancement to facilities and communications.

Lenox won the fourth-highest award among 12 Massachusetts communities.

The grants, $1.8 million in all, were announced by Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Scott Brown, U.S. Rep Richard Neal, and other Massachusetts congressmen.

The grants also cover training, health programs, new emergency vehicles and training programs for local firefighters.

The Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad, based in Great Barrington, was awarded $85,861 for turnout gear to provide crew protection from injury. The equipment also offers fire resistance as well as protection from the elements and from contamination by bodily fluids.

The grant also covers a mannequin for computer training at the squad's center on Lewis Avenue behind Fairview Hospital, said Neil Crawford, vice president. The squad is authorized to train basic EMTs and is seeking state certification to become an intermediate EMT training center.

In addition to serving Great Barrington, the squad also covers Monterey, Sheffield, Egremont, Mount Washington and the southern part of West Stockbridge. It has a mutual aid agreements with New Marlborough, Canaan, Conn., and Copake, N.Y.

"Massachusetts firefighters put their lives on the line every time that alarm bell sounds, and this investment helps them have the best equipment and training to keep them safe and ready to respond," Kerry wrote in a prepared statement.

"I am thankful that our local fire departments will receive these critical resources," stated Brown. "I will continue working within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to make sure the Assistance to Firefighters Grants are there for our heroic firefighters."

"The brave men and women who work in our local fire departments deserve to have the best training and equipment in order to do their jobs effectively," Neal wrote. "These important federal grants will help our firefighters and first responders keep cities and towns in Massachusetts safe."

The Nahant Fire Department won the largest grant statewide, $717,250, followed by Charlton, Topsfield and Lenox.

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