East Rockaway Fire Department receives grant

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $128,749 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to the East Rockaway Fire Department. The department will use the funding to buy 35 sets of protective equipment for new recruits; 35 breathing masks; 18 sets of protective equipment for emergency medical technicians; and 20 firefighter emergency escape systems.

The purpose of the AFG grant program is to enhance, through direct financial assistance, the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel and to provide support for emergency responders to fire, medical and other hazards.

“The award of the AFG will help provide my department with the resources needed to perform [their] duties,” said ERFD Chief James Henshaw, “and to procure protective and lifesaving equipment that will benefit our firefighters and the residents of East Rockaway. I would like to thank my department’s grant committee for the hard work and dedication they gave toward reaching this goal.”

Henshaw pointed out that the grants are competitive, and require many hours of research and documentation showing the department’s compliance with federal safety and staffing mandates. “I’m very proud of the hard-working men and women of my all-volunteer Fire Department, and the dedication they display on a daily basis,” he added.

Former chiefs Thomas Smith and James Carrigan, both still active members of the department, manage its grant committee. This is the 12th time in the past decade that the department has successfully applied for a Homeland Security grant. In total, it has been awarded more than $1.95 million in federal grants, which ranks among the most nationwide for a volunteer department.

More than 15,000 career, volunteer and other fire-related organizations compete for the grants each year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency anticipates that it will be able to award less than 25 percent of 2013 applicants grant funding.

“Our Fire Department has once again proved their ability to win competitive grants for the betterment of the residents of our great village,” said Mayor Francis Lenahan.