The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is awarding $554,509 to Hood River County fire agencies to purchase 89 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) with spare bottles and masks.
Hood River County’s grant was the single largest in Oregon during this year’s round of federal assistance to the Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program.
“It is essential that we provide our firefighters with the equipment they need to stay safe,” said Chief Leonard Damian, Hood River Fire & EMS.
The grant will be used to replace aging SCBA equipment that is more than 15 years old. The agencies had tried two other times in the past four years to obtain the grant.
Damian said the local agencies learned this week that Washington and Clark counties received FEMA grants to buy the same equipment, so Hood River agencies have approached the two metro counties about a cooperative purchase, which will enable all the agencies to negotiate a better deal via a pooled contract.
“It works best for us all if we can work as a unit,” Damian said.
Damian said the purchase will improve safety for firefighters, who are now using outdated gear. Two National Fire Protection Association upgrades have been done since the SCBA equipment was purchased around 2004.
The AFG program, created by Congress in 2001 and now administered by FEMA, is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Through the AFG program, FEMA will pay for 90 percent of the equipment costs with the county agencies responsible for the remainder.
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