Baldwin VFD gets $136k grant

Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department officials received notification Thursday that the fire department has been named as the recipient of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
With the $136,000 grant, 15 sets of personal, fire protective gear and 15 self-contained breathing apparatuses will be purchased for department members.
“This grant is so important to us, and the community, it’s really hard to quantify how important it is,” Fire Chief Lance Mire said. “This year we hired an outside grant writer to assist us; as these grants have become very competitive over the last decade.”
The cost to outfit a firefighter with the proper firefighting gear and communications is reportedly $10,000 per firefighter.
With budget cuts prevalent on all levels of local government due to economic downturn, small departments tend to struggle to maintain adequate equipment to meet National Fire Protection Association standards.
The chief said the award of this grant will allow them to stay up to date and will help insure that their firemen safely return home to their families, following a fire call.
The FEMA website states that the primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations.
Furthermore, it says that since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.