City seeks grant to funnel fumes from fire stations
City Council on Wednesday gave the fire department the green light to apply for a $2.7 million federal grant that would allow the city to funnel toxic exhaust out of additional fire station bays.
The city would provide a $405,000 local match for the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, bringing total funding to about $3.1 million. About $1.8 million would go toward installing exhaust removal systems in 30 fire stations.
Houston received a grant through the same FEMA program last year to install the devices in its 15 busiest fire stations, removing the fumes through hoses connected to the exhaust pipes of fire trucks.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers diesel engine exhaust a Group 1 carcinogen based on its finding that exposure increases the risk of lung cancer. Short-term exposure can cause headaches, dizziness and eye irritation.
The Texas Commission on Fire Protection launched an investigation into the department’s safety standards last year after the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association accused the department of failing to protect members from carcinogens.
Fire Chief Sam Peña has said he would like to outfit every fire station by the mid-2020s. The department has 102 active stations, according to the city’s website.
When City Council approved the use of the last year’s FEMA grant in January, a few council members said they hoped to speed up the pace. At first, Peña said he intended to install the systems in 10 to 15 stations a year.
The remaining $1.3 million, meanwhile, would allow the fire department to incorporate 650 engineer operators, along with 30 recently promoted officers, in its Blue Card training program.
The program trains firefighters to better manage and suppress fires, identify threats and hazards, and improve coordination. FEMA awarded the city funding for the program two years ago, though the department is seeking further grant money to include engineer operators, who drive apparatuses to and from emergencies.
About $170,000 of the city’s local match would come from its general fund, which it uses to fund the overall fire department, among other core city functions. The remaining $235,000 of the match would come out of a fund used to acquire equipment for various city departments.