Hodgdon FD receives FEMA grant

15 years ago

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer

    A $38,000 grant to the Hodgdon Fire Department from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) means their firefighters can breath a little easier, literally. Town Manager James Griffin said the money will be used to purchase a new compressor for the department’s self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) system. The SCBA bottles are worn by first responders, firefighters, industrial workers and others to provide breathable air.
    Griffin wrote the grant request back in February, 2009 and only found out about it Jan. 27 when he got calls from the offices of Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Mike Michaud. He knows what the department needs since he is one of Hodgdon’s 25 volunteer firefighters of whom 22 are SCBA certified. “We do mandatory inspections every month and have to be in compliance with the Bureau of Labor Standards,” said Griffin. “Even if we don’t have fires, we probably use the system about once a month with training.”
    Griffin explained that the department has been using a low-pressure system to fill their bottles. However, the old system, according to Griffin, doesn’t work very well to fill their newer high-pressure bottles. The department switched from low-pressure 2,200 PSI bottles in 1996 to the 4,500 PSI bottles now worn by the volunteers when they go into burning buildings.
    Saying he had been waiting for word on the proposal for about a year, Griffin added that he was “quite happy, even ecstatic” about the news. He expects to get the check in about one month when he will “look for the best buy to purchase the new compressor. ”
    The Hodgdon Fire Department is one of 12 in Maine to get this round of funding for upgrades through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The Department of Homeland Security is awarding $592,810 to the 12 Maine fire departments through FEMA.