Ansonia fire department grateful for FEMA funds
$ 359K grant helped purchase new equipment
ANSONIA — Had it not been for help from the federal government, Fire Department officials feared their volunteer members could’ve gone without the proper tools to keep them protected in the line of duty.
Fire Chief Michael Ehemen said the department is coming up on one year since the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded the department a $ 359,500 grant, which covered 95 percent of the cost to purchase new equipment. The grant enabled the Ansonia Fire Department to buy 52 self contained breathing apparatus, along with 20 additional facemasks.
The city contributed $ 17,119 toward the purchase, but without FEMA’s financial assistance the department would’ve been unable to afford the much- needed gear, Ehemen said.
“I feel that the city and its taxpayers would have to incur the total cost,” Ehemen said. “Given the city’s financial condition I’m thinking that this would be an extremely difficult task.”
The air packs the volunteer firefighters were using were close to reaching the end of their life expectancy, according to Ehemen, purchased nearly 20 years ago.
“We are so grateful to FEMA for providing us with this equipment,” Eheman added. “We knew that by the end of 2019, we would have to replace all of the air bottles that are used with our SCBAs, and we also knew that our city just couldn’t afford them.”
Ehemen said since the new equipment has been in use, the volunteer firefighters responded to 526 incidents, and the SCBAs were used in more than half of those calls. They also are used in training sessions, are serviced by trained members of each firehouse and are inspected and tested by the vendor, Shipman’s Fire Equipment Co. of Waterford, Ehemen added.
The new SCBAs feature the latest in life- safety technology, as well as a 10- year warranty, Ehemen said. There are back- up safety features, Bluetoothenabled electronics support and wireless connectivity between devices, along with a new harness design that offers greater resistance to chemical exposure and water absorption.
The FEMA grant, written by former Chief Scott Trembley and grant writers Eileen Ehman and Eileen Krugel, was submitted in 2018. Of the 10,000 grant applications submitted, only about 2,000 were approved, including Ansonia’s, officials said.
Eheman credited a number of other individuals for being instrumental in getting the grant submitted, including Firefighter Ed Sturges, Fire Marshal Darrick Lundeen, former City Comptroller Rich Bshara, past Fire Chief Ed Adamowski, 1st Assistant Chief Dan Mudry, 2nd Assistant Chief Alex Horjatschun, and 3rd Assistant Chief Jay Fainer.
“This team invested a tremendous amount of time and effort into this project, and their efforts proved extremely valuable for the city and its volunteer firefighters,” said Adamowski, who also expressed gratitude to Mayor David Cassetti and the Board of Fire Commissioners. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the department, thanks to this equipment, and we appreciate the support from the city.”