The Ben Lomond Fire Protection District on behalf of itself and the Boulder Creek, Felton and Zayante Fire Protection Districts has been awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the amount of $589,780.00 for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).
The goal of obtaining this grant project was to immediately improve the health and safety of our firefighters and the community we serve by purchasing new SCBA or masks used to supply firefighters with breathable air during an active fire or other incidents where breathable air is compromised. Of all the Personal Protection Equipment firefighters put on before entering an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH), an SCBA is the most important. The current age of the San Lorenzo Valley Departments is over 10 years of heavy use during emergency incidents and training.
This AFG grant is the largest ever received by the San Lorenzo Valley Fire Departments. The volunteer fire departments have a 10% match of $53,616 towards the $589,780.00 SCBA replacement cost. Ben Lomond Fire Chief Stacie Brownlee shared “there was a great team effort preparing this grant under the direction of Engineer and PIO Dan Arndt who authored the AFG grant”.
Chief Brownlee also stated, “The funding made available by the 2016 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program will allow us to outfit our First Responders with much needed Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), which is a key component of their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when entering hazardous environments. This award will allow our first responders to have the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) they need to be able to do their job safely and allow everyone to go home to their families after the emergency incident. I would like to thank FEMA, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, Congresswoman Eshoo and all others involved for supporting this program and securing the funding.” Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (California’s 18th Congressional District) authored a personal letter of endorsement and support to FEMA on behalf of the volunteer fire departments.