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Date: 1/24/2022
BELCHERTOWN- On Jan. 12 the Belchertown Fire Department announced it received a Firefighter Safety Equipment grant from the Department of Fire Services (DFS) worth over $18,000.
Belchertown Fire Chief John Ingram said the funds from the grant will go toward a variety of equipment upgrades.
“The grant itself will be going to replace expired gear. It is going to replace six sets of full turnout gear for the firefighters and also gloves, Nomex hoods and a couple helmets as well,” he said.
By receiving the grant, Ingram said the department is able to make essential equipment upgrades without affecting residents’ wallets.
“It helps out with replacing our safety gear and we do not always have enough money to do that throughout the year, so it is a huge help to the community and the town budgetary wise to assist us with replacing our safety gear,” he said.
Ingram then explained the process behind applying for the grant through DFS.
“The Department of Fire Services sends out a grant announcement that they received money and the amount of money you get is based on the population in your community, so it puts you in a tier for that population with other similar communities,” he said.
Once DFS receives the application, Ingram said they look at the application based on the priority of the department’s needs before issuing a decision.
“Then you fill out the application and there is a priority list for different safety equipment. Depending on what you are asking for you are placed into a category of high, medium or low. You submit all that paperwork to the Department of Fire Services they look at it and I believe they have a scoring mechanism, then you are notified if you received the grant,” he said.
Ingram added the grant from DFS is competitive because it is open to all fire departments in Massachusetts.
As long as the grant is available, Ingram said the department will continue to apply for it.
“They hope to have this grant for the next few years so we will continue to evaluate our equipment and see what we need to replace our purchase to bring up our standards and needs,” he said.