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$72,745 GRANT: Willcox Fire Dept. "really pleased"
By CAROL BROEDER/Arizona Range News
The Willcox Department of Public Safety received more than $72,000 in federal funds to replace the fire department's antiquated safety equipment.
Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., announced last Wednesday that the department received a $72,745 grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, in response to the city's application to the Firefighters Grant Program for Operations and Firefighter Safety.
"I am happy to help secure this grant for the Willcox Fire Department," Kolbe said. "Our firefighters, especially in rural areas, need the resources to keep their equipment up to date. This grant will allow Willcox firefighters to replace aging safety equipment, so that they will stay safe and better protect our communities."
"We're really, really pleased," said Jake Weaver, the city's chief of police.
The fire department "will be replacing equipment that's over 20 years old," he said.
Weaver said the money will be used to purchase air packs, face masks, turnouts (protective gear), and equipment used to refill air packs.
Patti Ackerson-Rodriguez, the city's assistant fire chief, said the department plans to purchase 14 new air packs, six more face masks, 10 more turnouts, and one more fill station.
She said that some of the department's air packs are 30 years old, and some of the turnouts are 20 years old.
"I think it's fantastic," Ackerson-Rodriguez said. "With our budget cut again this year, we thought we wouldn't be able to get the things we need. It couldn't have come at a better time."
The grant must go before the City Council for final approval, Weaver said, so the department should receive the money a few months after that.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards one-year grants directly to fire departments to support the nation's firefighters and the services they deliver, said Kristen Hellmer, Kolbe's press secretary.
"For the 2004 program, Congress appropriated $750 million in direct assistance to firefighters, and it is aimed at improving operations, services, and equipment for the first responder communities," Hellmer said, in a written statement released last Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., announced last Wednesday that the department received a $72,745 grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, in response to the city's application to the Firefighters Grant Program for Operations and Firefighter Safety.
"I am happy to help secure this grant for the Willcox Fire Department," Kolbe said. "Our firefighters, especially in rural areas, need the resources to keep their equipment up to date. This grant will allow Willcox firefighters to replace aging safety equipment, so that they will stay safe and better protect our communities."
"We're really, really pleased," said Jake Weaver, the city's chief of police.
The fire department "will be replacing equipment that's over 20 years old," he said.
Weaver said the money will be used to purchase air packs, face masks, turnouts (protective gear), and equipment used to refill air packs.
Patti Ackerson-Rodriguez, the city's assistant fire chief, said the department plans to purchase 14 new air packs, six more face masks, 10 more turnouts, and one more fill station.
She said that some of the department's air packs are 30 years old, and some of the turnouts are 20 years old.
"I think it's fantastic," Ackerson-Rodriguez said. "With our budget cut again this year, we thought we wouldn't be able to get the things we need. It couldn't have come at a better time."
The grant must go before the City Council for final approval, Weaver said, so the department should receive the money a few months after that.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards one-year grants directly to fire departments to support the nation's firefighters and the services they deliver, said Kristen Hellmer, Kolbe's press secretary.
"For the 2004 program, Congress appropriated $750 million in direct assistance to firefighters, and it is aimed at improving operations, services, and equipment for the first responder communities," Hellmer said, in a written statement released last Wednesday.
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