Grant County Fire District 13 has received a FEMA grant to replace its self contained breathing apparatus, commonly known as “air packs.”
The fire district was awarded a grant of $136,926, with a five percent match from the district. The district’s current air packs were purchased in 2004 through a multi-department grant and the air packs are required to be replaced every 15 years.
District officials will be meeting with vendors over the next several months to select the new air packs.
Without the grant, the fire district would have had to take on additional debt to purchase new air packs, costing about three-quarters of the district’s $173,000 yearly budget.