Lynbrook Fire Department receives $20,000 federal grant

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The Lynbrook Fire Department was recently awarded a $20,000 federal grant to purchase a new specialized washer and dryer to remove contaminants from firefighters’ gear.

“It’s for the health and safety of our members,” LFD Chief Carl Lengel said. “They get stuff all over their coat and then go to another call and all that stuff is still on that coat, so they get it on their skin and are exposed to hazardous materials that they really don’t need to be exposed to.”

Lengel said the department only has one washer and dryer, so he felt that getting more machines would help them get rid of soot and other hazardous materials quicker. Lengel added that he first applied for the grant last year when he was serving as the first assistant chief. The grant was awarded to Lynbrook by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Lengel said the washer and dryer would be installed sometime in the next few weeks, and added that the dryer had to be shipped in from Michigan. The new washer can hold about four sets of gear and the dryer can hold about five, Lengel said. The equipment could also be used to clean a fire hose.

“We can double the amount of wash that we can do at once,” Lengel said. “So, it will actually cut our wash time in half.”