BY Mike Kalil
The Union Leader
Copyright 2007 Union Leader Corp.
All Rights Reserved
DERRY, N.H. — A $244,642 federal grant will help pay to replace outdated air-supply equipment that firefighters wear in heavy-smoke conditions, Fire Chief George Klauber said yesterday.
The department has not bought the self-contained air units and related equipment in recent years because of budget constraints, Klauber said. Local firefighters respond to more than 3,000 calls each year that require the equipment.
The funding, from Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, will allow the department to buy 46 of the units, which cost about $5,000 apiece, Klauber said. The town will pay 10 percent of the estimated $271,825, which amounts to $27,183.
Klauber said the grant helps the fire department fall into compliance. The upgrade is the kind of improvement that should be done all at once, he said, and the sum has been too large for town officials to budget.
“This grant really helped the town,” he said.
The department will also buy an electronic air management system that relays information to and from the station, which helps incident commanders keep track of their firefighters. Officials will also buy three special air units for search-and-rescue teams to use when they enter a building where firefighters might be trapped or missing or during hazardous chemical incidents.
More than 18,000 applications, amounting to nearly $2.5 billion in requests, were made in fiscal 2006. The program has so far awarded $3.3 million to 42 departments statewide during this round of awards.
Derry received the largest sum of grant money. After Derry was the Warner Fire Department, which received $231,135 to buy vehicles. The grants are distributed in phases, and about $485 million is expected to be given to about 4,500 departments nationwide.
The Pelham Fire Department was awarded $88,353 to help pay for $93,003 in improvements to radio communications infrastructure. Chief Michael Walker said he hopes improvements are made within the next two months. The funding, he said, was much needed.
“Right now, we’re dangerous,” he said. “We have big problems with our radio system.”