Colo. firefighters win grant for new breathing masks

By Joe Rubino
Daily Camera

BOULDER, Colo. — Volunteers with Boulder County's Gold Hill Fire Protection District soon will be equipped with some badly needed new breathing apparatuses, the district's fire chief said, after it was announced Thursday that the tiny department has been awarded more than $87,000 in competitive federal firefighter grant funding.

Gold Hill is among 14 fire departments from 13 states that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has so far announced as grant recipients as part of its 2012 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The department has been awarded up to $87,179, according to a congratulatory announcement issued by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall's office Thursday.

"It's great," Gold Hill Fire Chief Chris Finn said. "The safety of my firefighters is going to improve a lot because of this."

Full story: Gold Hill firefighters win $87,000 federal grant for new breathing masks