U.S. Rep. Neal Announces Grant For Pittsfield Fire Department
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Mayor Daniel Bianchi and Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski announced the grant on Monday. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Fire Department will be purchasing 28 new air packs with the help of a $132,300 federal grant.
The airpacks will meet National Fire Protection Association standards and replace ones dating back to 1997. The city is putting $14,700 toward the purchases, which will be ordered in July and expected to stock every truck.
"This will bring us into a new era of 2013 standards," Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said on Monday, when he was joined by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal to announce the grant.
The department purchased six new packs in July that are easily upgradable to new standards, Czerwinski said. The air packs alert firefighters that air levels are getting low at 33 percent, instead of 25 percent, and have higher thermal tolerance face masks.
The air packs are critical for firefighters entering burning buildings.
"I think it is particularly pronounced in New England because of the number of old buildings. When a firefighter goes into those old buildings, there is great risk and that is why the air pack is so important," Neal said.
Neal used the example of the deadly 1999 Worcester warehouse fire that killed six firefighters — four of whom were his constituents — because they ran out of air as an example of how dangerous the profession is and why it is important to have the latest technology. The new air packs also provide a higher level of protection from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and etiologic (microbial) threats, Neal said.
"We have to have them and there is a big difference between the new ones and the old ones," said firefighter Donald Whalen, who explained multiple uses the air packs have beyond providing breathable air.
Neal said cities often can't upgrade the expensive equipment on their own so the federal government's support is crucial.
"I think local government has limited capacity in this recession to undertake these expenditures," Neal said.
Firefighter Donald Whalen explains to Mayor Daniel Bianchi how the air packs work. |
Mayor Daniel Bianchi agreed, saying the budget cycle is always difficult.
"I feel bad for the chief when we have to go through budgets," Bianchi said.
But with a lack of city funds allocated to make capital investments in the Fire Department, the department has still been successful in recent years in bringing in some $2.5 million in funds, which include the purchase of a new truck just a few years ago.
"This saves the taxpayers of Pittsfield a lot of money," said City Councilor Kevin Morandi.
With 20,000 applicants vying for funding nationwide, Neal credited the Pittsfield Fire Department's grant writers for putting together a a winning application.
Also on hand were state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield; state Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield; Sheriff Thomas Bowler, City Councilor Jonathan Lothrup and multiple officials from the Fire Department.
"We have to protect the citizens who run in when we're all running out," Downing said.
Tags: federal grants, fire department, firefighter, firefighting equipment, Neal,
