Weymouth firefighters awarded federal grant for equipment and training
Weymouth, MA – September 15, 2014 – Weymouth firefighters have received a $126,000 federal grant to purchase new personal protective equipment and train existing personnel. Awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the grant enables Weymouth’s firefighters to make investments that would otherwise be cost prohibitive but are nonetheless important to fire service operations and personnel safety.
“Our firefighters are professional, highly-dedicated individuals who are committed to protecting the community,” says Weymouth’s Mayor, Susan Kay. “This grant is an opportunity to get them more of the tools and training that they deserve so they can continue looking out for Weymouth families while also protecting themselves against harm.”
With the federal grant award, Weymouth firefighters will make needed investments in both physical and human capital. The Department will spend approximately $51,000 to replace its aged and well-worn inventory of breathing apparatus facepieces. This gear enables firefighters to perform essential interior operations on the fireground without the risk of inhaling life-threatening fumes. In addition, each facepiece will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art voice amplifier to provide louder, clearer and more effective communication for the coordination of on-scene activities. Once spent, the grant will equip each of the Department’s 86 active duty firefighters with a new facepiece and voice amplifier.
“In the last three years, the Fire Department has responded to almost 3,000 fire and haz-mat [hazardous material] incidents requiring the use of facepieces for safe breathing,” says Weymouth’s Fire Chief, Keith Stark. “With our firefighters at risk of serious injury in about 1,000 incidents a year, we have a critical need to equip them with the best available, next-generation technology.”
The Fire Department plans to purchase facepieces with enhanced sealing and lens durability to better protect wearers from physical and thermal impacts. “This equipment will help save lives – both those of firefighters and the residents whom we protect,” says Stark.
The remaining $75,000 in grant money will be spent on firefighter training and certification. At present, all Weymouth firefighters are trained to the national standards of professional firefighter and fire apparatus driver qualifications – more commonly referred to as Firefighter I & II. Certification is optional, however, and a number of firefighters in the Department are not yet certified. With the federal grant, every Weymouth firefighter will be retrained and certified to the level of Firefighter I & II. Not only will the grant cover comprehensive, hands-on instruction and exams through the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, but the Department will also be reimbursed for overtime expenses while firefighters are temporarily removed from useful service for training and certification.
“Properly trained firefighters are needed for all fireground operations. But when firefighters are trained and certified together, they become more effective and more efficient at carrying out their duties,” explains Stark. “Retraining and universal certification will make us a stronger department. We’ll have a shared knowledge base that draws on the latest techniques in fire attack and the latest standards of firefighter safety.” According to Stark, the training and certification process will help Weymouth firefighters to better save lives, reduce property loss, and also prevent injuries among crew members.
The federal grant was awarded under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program for fiscal year 2013. The AFG program provides federal money directly to local fire departments to help address a wide variety of equipment, training and other firefighter-related needs. Weymouth firefighters last received an AFG award in fiscal year 2008, which funded the conversion of the Department’s VHF radio system to a UHF system, allowing interoperable communication with surrounding communities and mutual aid districts. There is no set geographical formula for the distribution of AFG grants. Rather fire departments throughout the nation apply, and award decisions are made by a peer panel based on the merits of the applications and the needs of the communities. Effective August 29, 2014, FEMA has awarded over $274M in grants for fiscal year 2013.