A $210,980 FEMA grant will help supply the firefighters of the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department with the latest self-contained breathing apparatus and a new air compressor.
The department, and its oversight body, the Westfield Fire District, applied for the money last November, according to a press release. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant funds will be used to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus and a breathing air compressor/cascade fill station. The new equipment will replace equipment bought in 2004 and a 25-year-old compressor no longer supported by the manufacturer.
The new SCBA air packs, bottles and face masks will replace the department’s aging inventory that will soon be out of National Fire Protection Agency compliance standards, the release said.