The Huntington Volunteer Fire Co., of Pohatcong Township, will get a $57,437 grant, and the Readington Volunteer Fire Co. will receive $43,650.
View full sizePohatcong Township fire engines responding to a blaze in June. Two local fire departments will share in nearly $1.3 million in federal firefighter grants announced today.
The Huntington Volunteer Fire Co. of Pohatcong Township will get $57,437, and the Readington Volunteer Fire Co. will get $43,650.
“This federal funding will ensure that fire departments throughout New Jersey are well-equipped and able to access the training they need to answer the call and protect the public,” said U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), a member of the Senate subcommittee that funds the grant programs.
The Pohatcong department will use the money to buy a new fire hose, as well as adapters that will make it easier to connect to fire hydrants, said Chief Pete Pursell.
“We’ve put in for these grants a few times, but this is the first time we’ve gotten it,” Pursell said. “We kind of got lucky.”
Phone messages to the Readington fire department were not returned.
Lautenberg and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced the grants today as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.
“These fire departments serving New Jersey communities, big and small, are receiving (grants) directly from the federal government to help them obtain the equipment they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently,” Menendez said.
Pursell said the department will replace its 4-inch diameter hose with a 5-inch hose, which is used to connect fire hydrants to the department’s vehicles.
The existing hose could be as much as 16 years old and has at various times failed tests for leaks and its ability to maintain water pressure for long periods of time, the chief said.
The department also plans to buy adapters for 72 fire hydrants, which will allow firefighters to attach the hoses more quickly, with a quick quarter-turn.
Pursell could not estimate when the department would receive the equipment, but said they would go out to bid for it as soon as they receive the money.
The Wood-Ridge Fire Department in Bergen County received the largest grant at $538,650, nearly half of the total grant amount.
The Ridgefield Park Fire Department in Bergen County got $211,375, the Waterford Township Fire Department in Camden County got $141,360, and the City of North Wildwood Fire Department in Cape May County got $110,480.
Contact reporter Colin McEvoy at 610-258-7171 ex. 3631 or cmcevoy@express-times.com.
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