The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded a pair of grants worth more than $500,000 to South Thurston Fire & EMS, which serves Tenino among other locales.
The larger of the two grants, a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant worth $478,904, will be allocated over four years towards recruiting, training and retaining volunteer firefighters. Grant funds will go towards a new training library, physical examinations and gear for new volunteers. An Assistant to Firefighters Grant award worth $65,500 will be used to install a vehicle exhaust evacuation system in the main station located at 187 Hodgden St. S in Tenino. Doing so will help reduce the health risks associated with exposure to large amounts of vehicle exhaust.