Marion Township to receive gear, training with grant
MARION – For only $5,000 in township funds, the Marion Township Fire Department will soon receive more than $100,000 worth of equipment and wellness training.
The department recently was announced as a recipient of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which provides competitive funding for departments across the nation. The federal grant program is run through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to help fire departments with funding issues.
It only requires the township to match around 5 percent of the federal funds, giving the department$105,357. The process was competitive, Taylor said, and Lt. Corey Temple wrote the grant with help from a grant-writing service. Temple wasn’t available for comment.
One of the needs that will be filled through the grant is replacing old fire equipment, such as hoses and nozzles. Taylor said that some of the department’s gear, while still up to safety standards, was purchased when it was founded in 1971.
Taylor said among of the most important purchases will be three thermal imaging cameras, each costing around $10,000. The cameras allow firefighters to identify fires inside a building before entering and can show where people are in a search-and-rescue scenario. The move will give the department a camera on every truck and replace it oldest camera, purchased more than 20 years ago.
The department also will be purchasing new workout equipment and retraining a handful of firefighters who work as peer fitness trainers to lead programs and give their colleagues advice and goals.
“With cancer and heart disease on the rise in the fire service, we definitely wanted to make sure our guys are healthy,” Taylor said.
The room will only be used for light aerobics and some weight lifting, since the firefighters using it could have to go on calls. The department also will have funding for staff physicals.
Taylor said the department learned Friday that it will receive the funding, and he expects the department will begin purchasing the new equipment in August or September.
While glad to have this grant, Taylor holds out hope that the department may receive another one that could provide funding for a new ladder truck.
The department’s current vehicle, he said, is 25 years old and nearing the end of its life. A replacement could cost around $800,000, and the models are usually customized to fit the needs of each department.
In Marion Township, those needs have changed since the department purchased the current truck. With new businesses in the area, Taylor said, responders will need a longer ladder to reach higher buildings.
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