The Westport Island volunteer fire department was recently notified that it has been awarded more than $57,000 under the 2014 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.

According to the FEMA website, AFG grant monies are awarded “to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations.”

The funds have been awarded for the past 14 years so that “firefighters and other first responders (may) obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.”

The Westport fire department began work on the grant in June 2014 in order to meet the filing deadline of October 2014.

Calling it a “tough, competitive process,” Bob Mooney, Westport’s fire chief, explained that applying for the grant requires highly detailed information in an online application. Fire departments are asked to provide their budgets for the previous three years, details about their “runs,” information about the current firefighters, and how the grant will be used.

Paid and volunteer fire departments across the U.S. hope to receive grants, but not every request can be funded.  

“With $314 million to be awarded in 2015, there were $2.3 billion in requests,” Mooney said.

This is the third grant Westport has received since 2001. The first award in 2002 was used to purchase self-contained breathing equipment (SCBA) and air bottles. The second grant, received in 2008, provided $47,000 for an exhaust system for the fire department building.

The current award will be used to purchase firefighting boots, pants, jackets and helmets and an industrial clothes washer/water-extractor, a high pressure air compressor, air storage cylinders, and a re-filling station for firefighter’s breathing apparatus air bottles.

The FEMA website shows the distribution as: Equipment, $43,838; and personal protective equipment, $13,674.

Thanking everyone for their assistance, Mooney said: “The department’s thanks go out to everyone who helped gather the necessary data for the grant, the grant writers, and the local, state, and federal legislative delegations for their letters of support. 

“Without everyone’s help this much needed award could have never happened.”