NORTHAMPTON — The city’s Fire and Rescue Department has been awarded an $18,569.91 grant provided through the commonwealth’s Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program that will assist in replacing and purchasing gear and other tools within the department.
The funding will be used to enhance firefighter safety by purchasing new fire helmets, extrication gloves and structural firefighting gloves for all personnel. Additionally, the grant will support the acquisition of a floating pump to assist with brush and wildland fires, as well as self-contained breathing apparatus bottles for Scott Air-Paks.
The grant is put forward by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in conjunction with the Department of Fire Services.
Assistant Fire Chief Matt Lemberg told Reminder Publishing the grant was important for departments across the state in helping fill equipment needs that may have been unforeseen during that fiscal year’s budgeting process.
“We work in a high impact, high stress field and tools and equipment break, and if it’s an unforeseen equipment purchase that we didn’t budget for, this kind of takes the burden and the strain off of the city to buy this equipment and gives us an extra fund established at the state level that helps fire departments to purchase these things,” said Lemberg.
He added the floating pump that will be purchased comes as a necessity for the department as the previous one broke during the last wildland fire season. Lemberg explained the floating pump is used to get water from a static source, or not a fire hydrant, in a more efficient and cleaner way when combating brush and wildland fires.
“When we draft with our brush truck or our engines, the hose sinks to the bottom of whatever body of water its in. A lot of the ponds and areas we have to draft out of, you don’t want to drag off the bottom because then you’re going to drag all that silt and all those weeds and everything into your pump and that’s going to be an even bigger expense,” said Lemberg. “What the pump allows us to do is if we have a very shallow water source, the pump actually sits on top of the water and the intake is just below the level of the float so we’re not basically sucking all the muck off these swamps or ponds and we’re just actually getting water. It gives us one more tool in our toolbox and when commanders sometimes need to think outside the box this gives them a little bit of extra leeway to do that.”
The self-contained breathing apparatus bottles for Scott Air-Oaks will be an added resource in what Lemberg called their most valuable tool.
Lemberg added the department extends gratitude to the Healey Administration, Fire Marshal Jon Davine and the entire DFS staff for its support and this grant.
“As long as it’s available, Northampton will apply and make sure that we find equipment that may not be covered in the budget, that we may be able to get to keep our citizens safe,” Lemberg added.
