Added grants bring $808,000 in funding to fire department

The Northville City Fire Department (NCFD), which serves the cities of Northville and Plymouth, has been awarded $808,146 in three separate FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) requests, which will be used to purchase a new ambulance, new hoses and new radios. The latter two grants are regional grants. The new hoses will be purchased for three fire departments (NCFD, Northville Township and Plymouth Township.) The radio grant was submitted by the Dearborn Heights Fire Department on behalf of 16 departments within the Western Wayne Fire Department Mutual Aid Association, which includes Northville and Plymouth, both cities and townships.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) “provide funding for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience,” according to the FEMA website.

     “The AFG program is vitally important to the health and welfare of the fire service in this country,” said Fire Chief Steve Ott. “Without these funds, we would not have been able to obtain the needed equipment or would have had to divert resources from other areas.”
     Northville Mayor Ken Roth expressed his appreciation for the grant funding.
“I want to thank our Fire Chief Steve Ott, and everyone else who was instrumental in pursuing these grants. A grant of this dollar amount will dramatically assist in updating our department's equipment, and save taxpayer dollars. This is a great example of our department leveraging resources to improve our operations,” Roth said.
The grants require the grantees to pay a small percentage of the cost of the item being purchased.
     For the new rescue ambulance, the funds will cover the cost of the vehicle and specialized equipment, including power-lift technology, which reduces stress on EMTs when moving patients into and out of the vehicle. The vehicle will be housed at Station 1 (215 W. Main St.). The project amount is $250,000. The federal share is $238,095, and the grantee share (5 percent of federal share) is $11,905. The ambulance will replace an 18-year-old unit, and will handle an estimated 500 runs annually.
For the hoses, approximately 44,600 feet will be purchased and much of it will replace older hose that has been in use for 20 years or more, Ott said. As the host agency for this grant application, the NCFD will purchase the new hoses, keeping approximately 22,000 feet, and distributing the balance to other fire departments in the grant. The project amount is $257,118, with the federal share at $233,743.63, and the grantee's share at $23,374.37.
     The radio grant will enable the NCFD to replace its entire supply of radios (mobile, portable and base stations) with newer, more reliable radios made specifically for fire department use. The NCFD is currently using radios that are between 8-10 years old (end of their life cycle) and are no longer made.
The NCFD share of the radio grant is for $369,936 of which $336,309 will come from the federal government and $33,627 will be paid by the city.