Calif. fire dept gets grant for new aerial truck

The Times-Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Mike Thompson has helped secure $739,800 in federal grants for the Eureka Fire Department, according to a release from Thompson's office. The grants were awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The Eureka Fire Department (EFD) will use the grant to purchase a new ladder truck.

According to the release, the department's only ladder truck, a 1977 Sutphen, is underpowered with a manual transmission, does not seat firefighters in a rollover-protected cab and can't reach some of Eureka's tallest buildings. The new truck would allow EFD to more effectively perform its expanded roles of firefighting and medical response, hazardous materials, technical rescue, urban search and rescue, water rescue, water-borne firefighting and animal rescue, the release states.

"This grant will make a tremendous impact for the city of Eureka and its fire department's ability to provide the highest level of fire protection services well into the future," EFD Chief Ken Woods said in the release. "Replacing our aging ladder truck with a modern apparatus helps ensure that the fire department can continue to fulfill its mission of protection."

The purpose of the AFG is to award grants directly to fire departments and EMS organizations to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public. The AFG has provided approximately $5 billion in grants to first-responder organizations since 2001 and will award another $380 million in fiscal year 2011, according to the release.

"These grants are a win for the public and our local fire departments," Thompson said in the release. "They will help our firefighters protect the health and safety of the public by improving their ability to respond to fire and fire-related emergencies. I am proud to support these grants and thank our firefighters and first responders for their service to our communities."

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