Mass. fire dept. gets FEMA grant

Debbie LaPlaca
The Telegram & Gazette

CHARLTON, Mass. — The town's firefighters will breathe a little easier and its financial folks will breathe a sigh of relief when a recently awarded FEMA grant of $268,361 arrives.

At a selectmen's meeting Feb. 21, Fire Chief Charles E. Cloutier Jr. announced his department was successful in its application for the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that will pay for new air packs and a recharging station.

Capt. Ed Knopf and Call Firefighter Doug Robertson each spent more than 100 hours researching and writing the grant.

"I think those guys did a fantastic job, and we really owe them a debt of gratitude," Chief Cloutier said. "This is a difficult grant to receive, and to receive such a large amount is fantastic."

Air packs are used by firefighters to breathe when working in hazardous fumes. The 40 new packs will replace those purchased in 1997, which are no longer compliant with fire protection standards. The new recharging station that fills the air packs will replace a unit that has been in use for 30 years.

The chief reported the grant will eliminate about $150,000 of the department's expenditure requests identified in the five-year capital improvement plan.

Grant stipulations include a 5 percent match from the town of $13,418, and the full grant amount must be spent within one year of award.

Selectmen asked Town Administrator Robin L. Craver to work with Robert J. Hartwig, Finance Committee chairman, to identify a source for the $13,418 match.

Mr. Hartwig, who was in the audience, said he is confident they will find a way to fund the match.

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