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Date: 8/22/2023
EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton Fire Department has been awarded two federal Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grants in the amount of $565,000, which will be used to replace an outdated vehicle and other equipment.
“In these challenging financial times, the fire department found alternative funding to offset stress on the city budget to procure these resources,” said Easthampton Fire Chief Christopher Norris. “These grant funds will help propel the department forward to meet the growing demands for service and increase the safety of our personnel.”
The funds will be used to purchase a new brush truck, air-filling system and self-contained breathing apparatus. These new pieces of equipment will replace both outdated and unfixable older models.
The department’s current brush truck is 38 years old, and is a converted vehicle — not an authentic brush truck — making it even more in need of replacing.
“This vehicle had a custom-made body mounted on a pickup truck and had a water tank customized to fit the body of the truck,” explained Norris. “These converted vehicles lead to greater potential for accidents and injuries on the roadways.”
At 33 years old, the current air-filling station can no longer be repaired because parts are becoming unavailable. The station is used to fill the self-contained breathing apparatuses.
The current self-contained breathing apparatuses have also met the life expectancy for this type of equipment and must be replaced.
“The vehicle and all equipment have been on our department capital improvements list for the past three years,” noted Norris. “This grant helps replace these resources with the city requiring a minimum of a 5% match. These grant funds provide significant savings to the city and provide equipment and resources with a life span exceeding 15 years.”
The AFG is an extremely competitive nationwide grant program. Of the approximately 18,000 applications, the organization awards only 200 grants for vehicles and 2,000 grants for equipment.
“These grant awards are a reflection of an outside independent review of our current resources which certainly met the priorities for replacement based on national and state guidelines and standards,” said Norris.
The department has more grant applications that are pending and hopes to hear about those soon.
“It’s critical we continue to invest in the safety of our personnel and provide them the best resources possible to do their job,” said Norris.
The pursuit of grant opportunities for larger purchases allows the city to focus its main budget on other costs.
“Across all city departments, we are tenacious in pursuing grant opportunities to shift funding away from the approved budget and substantial capital items,” said Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. “Congratulations to Chief Norris and his team on submitting a very compelling application.”
The department expects to finalize the specifics of its new vehicle and equipment in the coming weeks.