By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded West Haven’s three fire departments four grants totaling $1.23 million for breathing equipment, a firetruck, advanced training and a pair of in-station diesel exhaust systems, U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced at a news conference on the Green on Monday.
“These grants are dedicated to protecting and strengthening our communities and providing lifesaving training and technologies to keep our families safe,” said DeLauro, D-3, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.
DeLauro and Rossi heralded the awards, part of FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, with FEMA Regional Fire Program Specialist David L. Parr and city Grant Coordinator Doug Colter.
They were joined by West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien and Deputy Chiefs William S. Johnson IV and Ronald Pisani Jr., West Shore Fire Department Chief Stephen Scafariello and Deputy Chief Dickson Dugan, and City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio, Deputy Chief Michael T. Esposito and Commissioner Cori Nunley.
Rossi thanked DeLauro for supporting the federal funding and fighting for West Haven. She also thanked Colter and the departments’ chiefs for writing and submitting the grants.
“Small cities like West Haven rely on this funding to meet the health and safety needs of our firefighters,” Rossi said.
According to DeLauro, an Assistance to Firefighters Grant is a competitive grant awarded to fire departments and emergency medical service organizations to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public and first responders. Fire departments and EMS organizations can use the grants to buy emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles, and training materials, she said.
The AFG funding, touted by DeLauro and Rossi in front of two dozen firefighters flanking the Firemen’s Memorial on the Green, includes a $373,636 regional grant for 57 self-contained breathing apparatus and three rapid intervention air packs that will benefit all three departments, said Terenzio, whose department hosted the grant application.
The funding includes a $545,454 grant for a new rescue fire engine and a $272,595 grant for advanced training, both for the West Haven Fire Department. It also includes a $39,333 grant for replacing the in-station diesel exhaust systems at West Shore’s headquarters on Old Ocean Avenue and Station 2 on Benham Hill Road.
Scafariello said the new exhaust systems will safeguard firefighters from cancer-causing carcinogens.
The $373,636 grant, written and submitted by Terenzio and Colter, will replace obsolete SCBA apparatus with new equipment that meets standards established by the National Fire Protection Association and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The SCBA equipment, worn on the backs of firefighters, “is a vital component of firefighters’ PPE that enables them to safely enter into smoke-filled and other dangerous and toxic atmospheres,” said Terenzio, whose department will receive 22 SCBA air packs.
The West Shore and West Haven departments will receive 23 and 12 SCBA packs, respectively.
Terenzio said each department will receive a rapid intervention air pack to aid its rapid intervention team in the event of rescuing a downed firefighter.
According to Terenzio, each SCBA pack costs about $7,000, and each RIT pack costs about $4,000.