Newswire - Two Fire Stations Get Federal Grants

Firestations

The Eagle-Tribune

Bryan McGonigle

Boston University Washington News Service

Oct. 10

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 – Two fire stations on Massachusetts’ North Shore will receive grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The grants – $129,000 for the North Reading Fire Department’s communications system and $39,000 for new firefighter gear for the Byfield Fire Department – were announced last week.

“It is critical that we provide firefighters and other first responders with the resources they need to protect our community,” Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said in a statement last week.

The North Reading Fire Department applied for the grant to improve and upgrade its mobile two-way radio system. The department’s radios are outdated and don’t meet the Federal Communications Commission’s frequency band standards.

“Everything we’ve got is around 15 years old,” North Reading Fire Chief David Harlow  said. “They’ve been breaking down, and we haven’t been able to repair them due to the lack of replacement parts. Now we’re going to be able to replace them and be up where we should be.”

The Byfield Fire Department needs to buy new protective gear for firefighters.

“We bought it [the current gear] probably about 13 years ago,” Byfield Deputy Fire Chief Doug Janvrin said. “It has a life expectancy, and there are tests you run for moisture. We had pretty much worn the stuff out. We want to keep our firemen safe.”

With municipal governments cutting budgets across the North Shore, any federal funds for fire departments mean less budget stress for towns.

“The overlying factor is that by getting this grant it saves us from having to take money from the local government,” Harlow said. “So we saved the taxpayers some money.”

Janvrin agreed, adding that the town of Byfield bought the firefighters’ last set of protective gear.

“With this grant out there, it’s a nice way of replacing this stuff so you’re not putting a burden on the town,” Janvrin said.

####