The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Good for all the towns involved’
Firefighters, ambulance to get new radios through regional FEMA grant
WINSTED – A federal grant is providing a group of first response agencies with money for new communication tools.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Winsted area first responders is the source of the funding totaling $680,760, U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, said. He also highlighted a tax incentive for first responders that he authored, the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act.
The grant from FEMA was presented Tuesday by Larson in a virtual ceremony. Larson was expectd to visit the Winsted firehouse in person, but was unable to attend.
Larson said “first responders put themselves in harm’s way every time they respond to a call,” and the funding will help them to be safer while doing so with new equipment.
“Firefighters and first respond
ers have been on the front lines of this pandemic,” Larson said in a statement. “I’m glad we were able to secure $680,760 in funding to assist and support Winsted first responders.”
“I’m also glad I got to speak with local volunteer fire fighters about the tax incentive I secured in Congress, to ensure they don’t have to pay taxes on the small tokens of gratitude they receive from their communities in return for their service,” he said.
The regional grant will be distributed to the Winsted Fire Department, the Winchester Volunteer Fire Department, the Winsted Area Ambulance Association, the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department and Norfolk Ambulance, to purchase portable radios, mobile radios and radio base stations.
Fire Chief James Lagassie said the department’s radios need to be replaced.
“They’re outdated,” he said. “This communications grant will let us buy new mobile radio equipment. The ones we have now are pushing 20 years old, and Norfolk’s are 25 years old.
The grant will be distributed among the departments.
“The radios we want are dual-band, meaning they’ll give us enhanced communication,” Lagassie said.
The Winsted Fire Department, Lagassie said, applied for the grant on behalf of the recipients.
“We can get the money at any time,” he said. “We’re doing our research, working with vendors. We plan to put an order in by the end of the year.”
Getting the funding from FEMA, Lagassie said, “is great news.”
“It’s good for all the towns involved,” the chief said. “I know Barkhamsted and New Hartford also applied, but they didn’t get awarded this time. A new grant cycle is opening up soon, so they can apply again.
“If we didn’t receive the grant, we’d have to put in for it through our capital budget, which we use for capital expenses like this. Radios are one of those things — it’s a commodity you have to have, and sooner or later, you have to replace them.” he said. “It’s like any other fire apparatus. Fortunately ,we got the grant, which will cover a good chunk of the cost of the radios.”