Grant gives firefighters a breath of fresh air

By Tim Damos / News Republic

 

Baraboo volunteer firefighters will be able to breathe easier thanks to a $167,390 federal grant.

"It’s a big deal for us," said Baraboo Fire Chief Kevin Stieve.

The fire department will use the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to purchase 32 new breathing apparatuses that will keep them safe in toxic atmospheres.

Stieve, who authored the grant, said it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Stieve learned in fall 2008 — after the next year’s budget was complete — that the department’s breathing devices would be obsolete by the end of 2009, he said.

He said the new devices have integrated alarm systems that can alert other firefighters if one of their crew members has fallen down.

"This grant program has been around for several years now and we’ve tried to get the grant since its inception in the early 2000s and have been unsuccessful," Stieve said.

If the grant is accepted by the city council, the city would have to contribute about $8,000 toward the purchase.

Wisconsin communities were awarded $5.3 million in Assistance to Firefighters Grants in 2009, and have already submitted 656 applications this year requesting a total amount of more than $90 million, according to U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold’s Office.

"The members of both volunteer and career fire departments put their lives on the line on a daily basis for others and at virtually every meeting I have with Wisconsin firefighters, they tell me about the vital importance of these grants and how these grants allow them to get needed equipment and training they would otherwise be unable to afford," Feingold said.

 

Send e-mail to tdamos@capitalnewspapers.com