Ohio Fire Department to Get $160,000 in Federal Funds

July 01--FAIRFIELD -- The Fairfield Fire Department will receive nearly $160,000 in federal money in order to improve its operations.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced Wednesday the department was awarded the grant by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants program.

The $158,966 grant award was part of round eight of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program for fiscal year 2014.

Fairfield Fire Chief Don Bennett said the money will go toward two projects. The first, and more costly, will be three powered cots for the EMS units.

"Over the past five years we have sustained more loss-time injuries due to the delivery of EMS than with structural firefighting," Bennett said. "It's all involved with the lifting and moving of patients."

Each cot costs around $40,000.

The other project is peer fitness training. Bennett said a peer fitness trainer will be on duty each of the unit days to "enhance health and wellness."

The grant was part of the Operations and Safety category of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, and projects that can be funded with this money include training, facility upgrades and modifications, and supplies like protective equipment.

"Firefighters and first responders keep our communities safe in times of crisis," Brown said. "These new federal resources will help ensure that Fairfield's skilled responders have the updated resources they need to safely do their jobs."

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