Wyandotte City Clerk Lawrence Stec (right) reads a proposal to accept a Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters grant award during the Aug. 23 city council meeting as Mayor Robert DeSana (left) listens.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – The City Council accepted a Federal Emergency Management Agency regional Assistance to Firefighters grant, for the replacement of self-contained breathing apparatus, at its Aug. 23 meeting.
Fire Chief Daniel Wright said in a memo to the council that the city’s SCBA, which allows firefighters to safely breath and work in hazardous conditions, is 18 years old.
Wright said Wyandotte took the lead on the regional grant application and partnered with six other communities – Allen Park, Brownstown Township, Grosse Ile Township, Harper Woods, Lincoln Park and Southgate – to strengthened the chance of acceptance, which paid off in a $504,636 award.
The $50,464 federal cost share will be divided among the seven cities, for a $555,100 total budget.
Wright said the Fire Department will bear the initial cost share, then bill the other fire departments for their share.
The AFG grant program is designed to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards.
The grant will support the purchase of 75 SCBA backpacks with face pieces and two SCBA bottles, plus 30 additional masks, so each one can be fit to each individual firefighter, and 181 SCBA mask bags, to protect the investment.