Development News From Southwest Indiana

Local volunteer firemen look to the future
By VINCE LUECKE, Editor, Perry County News, 8/31/05
Federal grants en route to two departments

PERRY COUNTY - A pair of Perry County volunteer fire departments will share more than $100,000 in federal assistance grants awarded by the Department of Homeland Security.

The awards are among grants made to fire departments throughout the U.S. through the Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program. The U.S. Fire Administration, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, administers the grant program to assist rural, urban and suburban fire departments.

Anderson Township's $69,417 grant will be used to purchase 20 sets of turnout gear and 10 self-contained breathing apparatuses. "For our department, it's a godsend," said Anderson Fire Chief John Taylor. Rural districts often struggle to pay for the flame-resistant pants and coats firefighters don at blazes. The grant will provide turnout gear for all of its members. Taylor said new suits were last purchased in the 1980s. "Everything else we have is used stuff," he said.

The breathing units provide a reliable source of air to firefighters and prevent smoke inhalation.

Cannelton Fire Department's $38,330 grant will fund a multi-point exhaust system for the city's new station on Indiana 66. The system, which expels vehicle exhaust from the station, was eliminated from the original project to save money. Fire Chief Chris Herzog said the exhaust system connects automatically to trucks and won't delay the departure of trucks when fires are reported.

Both grants required small cost-shares provided by the departments.

Both departments have been fortunate to obtain federal grants in the past. Anderson Township was awarded a $148,500 grant in 2003 to fund the purchase of a new pumper truck. A separate $38,700 grant helped purchase a thermal-imaging camera.

Cannelton received a $35,969 grant in 2003 for turnout gear and breathing apparatuses.

For the 2005 grant program, $650 million was appropriated to provide assistance to firefighters to improve the effectiveness of firefighting operations, firefighter health and safety programs, and to establish or expand fire prevention programs throughout the country.

Applicants were asked to apply for funds in three areas: operations and firefighter safety; fire prevention and public education and firefighting vehicles.

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