The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
FEMA safety grant shared 4 ways
4 fire departments to share money for self contained breathing apparatuses and other necessary equipment
Four area fire departments are receiving a regional grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Painesville City, Painesville Township, Fairport Harbor and Mentor-on-the-Lake fire departments were awarded $564,546 for the purchase of self-contained breathing apparatuses.
The funds will be used to replace aging SCBA in these departments, a necessity for firefighters in structural firefighting, according to a Painesville news release.
Much credit goes to Painesville City Fire Department Executive Captain Tom Hummel who took lead on the initiative and spent long hours gathering the necessary information for the grant.
Hummel said the application process required extensive research and detailed narratives explaining the need.
“Without his dedication to this project, each community would have had to find the funding for the air packs on their own,” said Painesville City Fire Chief Mark Mlachak. “It’s a huge help for all us and we thank him for his dedication.”
The funding will allow Painesville Township Fire Department to purchase 32 SCBAs, three rapid intervention team bags and three pack trackers.
Fairport Harbor Fire Department will receive 14 SCBAs, one rapid intervention team bag and one pack tracker while Mentoron-the-Lake will receive 28 SCBAs.
Painesville City Fire Department will receive 23 SCBAs, two rapid intervention team bags and two pack trackers.
Each department will also receive other minor accessories.
The new equipment will meet current standards and have additional safety features.
Unlike the current SCBAs that the departments are using, the new packs will have removable machine-washable harnesses. This is an important feature because the equipment is exposed to cancer-causing agents during fires and needs to be thoroughly cleaned before reuse, Hummel said.
“We’re very cautious of the issue of cancer and we’re doing our best to prevent exposure,” he said.
Painesville Township Fire Chief Frank Huffman said the grant comes at an excellent time for the department, as their equipment is at the end of its service life.
Fairport Harbor Fire Chief Robert Lloyd agreed, adding that if it was not for the grant, the department would not have been able to purchase all the SCBAs at once.
“I appreciate all of Hummel’s hard work,” Lloyd said. “This grant was much needed.”