The Hoover Fire Department recently obtained two federal grants totaling almost $250,000 to help buy a new medical rescue vehicle and fitness equipment for all 11 fire stations.
The grants came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters program, Chief Clay Bentley said.
Hoover will receive almost $205,000 to help purchase the medical rescue vehicle and almost $44,000 to help purchase the fitness equipment. The city must chip in about $25,000 to receive the grant money, Bentley said.
At the beginning of the year, the Fire Department had seven medical rescue units, three of which were fully staffed and in frontline operation, City Administrator Allan Rice said.
After private ambulance companies stopped serving Hoover in April, the Hoover Fire Department started staffing a fourth medical rescue unit during the peak hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., using existing personnel and overtime, Rice said.