By Megan Alley
Sun staff
Goshen Township Fire and Emergency Medical Services has been awarded a $245,239 federal grant to help pay for a new tanker truck, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown announced on July 22.
The funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants program.
“When I heard we won, I felt excited and relieved,” Fire and EMS Chief Steve Pegram said.
The AFG program helps firefighters and other first responders protect the public and themselves.
Fire equipment funded through the Vehicle Acquisition category includes pumpers, aerials, brush trucks, tankers/tenders, rescue vehicles and ambulances, according to a press release.
The department will use the funds to buy a new truck to replace an older truck that was purchased in 1982.
The National Fire Patrol Association, which sets codes and standards for fire and EMS equipment, recommends that trucks be replaced after 20 years.
“This [grant award] is huge for us,” Pegram said. “We’ve got to keep current on all this without breaking the bank.”
Pegram expects the new truck to be delivered by early summer 2016. He said it will be able to hold 3,000 gallons of water, which is double the current truck’s capacity.
“Although most of our residents live close to a fire hydrant, 50 percent of the land in the township doesn’t have access to a hydrant. So, we have to bring water with us to the fire site, and it can be a challenge,” Pegram said.
The new truck will also be helpful when the department offers support to neighboring fire and EMS departments, according to Pegram.
Grant funding has been a great help and resource to Pegram’s department. He hopes programs like the AFG program continue to be supported by Congress.
“Otherwise, we’d have to look at other sources of funding, which we don’t have,” Pegram said.
The Goshen Township Fire Department was awarded the funding as part of round 10 of the competitive Fiscal Year 2014 AFG program announcements, according to a press release.
“Firefighters and first responders keep our communities safe in times of crisis,” Brown said in a press release. “These new federal resources will help ensure that Goshen Township’s skilled responders have the updated resources they need to safely do their jobs.”
The department has successfully applied for FEMA grants in the past. In May, the department was awarded a $187,000 FEMA grant for the purchase of new self-contained breathing apparatuses.
“We’ve done quite well with grants this year,” Pegram said.
“In the past five years, we’ve won more than $1 million in grant funding,” he added.
Pegram said the grant will cover about 95 percent of the total cost of purchasing a new truck.
“It doesn’t cover everything we need, but it sure does help, and it lessens the burden on tax payers,” he said.