Fire departments in Gill and Northfield are set to receive a combined $146,766 in new equipment via the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters grant program.

The program, which is intended to help first responders obtain equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources, had awarded 1,689 departments a total of $298 million in this year’s round of funding as of Sept. 8. Another Franklin County town to get a grant recently was Deerfield, which accepted $47,619 on behalf of South County EMS.

As a condition of receiving a grant, each municipality must match its grant amount with its own 5% allocation.

Gill

Gill’s $26,095 allotment, awarded on Sept. 1, will fund the purchase of 10 Task Force Tip (TFT) fire hose nozzles.

“Our nozzles are old, so we want to replace them,” Fire Chief Gene Beaubien said. “Plus, we’re getting our new truck hopefully next spring.”

The department will also be purchasing two ALTAIR multi-gas detectors. These, Beaubien said, will be an upgrade from the department’s current gas meters, and function to detect high levels of propane, carbon monoxide and other gases.

The final expenditure will be two battery-powered vent fans, which help provide ventilation during structure fires. They run on 18-volt Milwaukee batteries, eliminating the trouble of accessing external power sources or potentially spilling gas, Beaubien said.

“Right now, we’re using gas and electric-powered vent fans and they’re alright … but if we happen to spill some gas, is could mess up the dogs,” he continued, explaining that fire investigation dogs trained to smell accelerants might have their scent trails obstructed.

Northfield

Northfield’s $120,671 allotment, awarded on Aug. 25, will fund the purchase of 21 new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units for firefighters for interior firefighting, as well as two rapid intervention training (RIT) packs.

“It’s going to give better protection for the firefighters when they’re doing interior firefighting and it also enhances [rapid intervention training] capabilities,” Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III summarized.

This new equipment replaces gear that is more than 20 years old, Dunnell said. The modern gear features “significant improvements” to breathability, the amount of air the packs can supply, weight, harnesses and mask quality.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.