Fire departments benefit from state gaming revenue
Thalia Juarez | Herald-Standard
Scott Conn, a lieutenant at the Uniontown Fire Department, says with the state grant money they hope to purchase about 31 new rapid intervention packs. Conn says the grant money will help them purchase new safety equipment and make some technology upgrades.
Thalia Juarez | Herald-Standard
Thalia Juarez | Herald-Standard
Scott Conn, a lieutenant at the Uniontown Fire Department, says with the state grant money they hope to purchase iPads to allow them to do on-scene documentation and file the reports.
Members and employees of fire departments and ambulance services in both Fayette and Greene counties say the annual state grants funded by gaming revenue provide the extra fiscal breathing room to continue to provide quality services.
The grants, which can be as much as $15,000, come from Pennsylvania’s Fire Company/Volunteer Ambulance Service Grant Program that is administered by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and Office of the State Fire Commissioner.
The program, started in 2000, handed out roughly $30 million in grants this year. It is open to all fire companies, volunteer ambulance services and volunteer rescue squads. The grant awards can be used for the construction or repair of facilities, purchase or repair of equipment, debt reduction and training, the state said.
“In 2016 alone, we processed more than 3,200 national level firefighter certifications and over 9,000 additional certificates,” said Tim Solobay, state fire commissioner, in a statement. “Since 1995 when the office was first charged with responsibility for the certifications, more than 33,000 certifications have been earned by men and women in the fire service in Pennsylvania. It’s a positive sign that people who want to do this job want to do it well and keep up with their training.”
The Uniontown Fire Department received $15,000 this year from the state program. The department, which includes eight paid fire fighters and around 30 volunteers plans on using its allocation to upgrade technology, said Scott Conn, a lieutenant with the department.
“These grants are always important when the dollar gets tight,” said Conn, adding the department is considering purchasing tablets with the funds that will made report writing more efficient.
“It is a huge shot in the arm for us.”
The Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department in Jefferson, Greene County, received a $12,616 grant from the state. The department will use some of the funds to pay down the debt on a $500,000 engine truck the department purchased several years ago, said Joe Petek, the department’s treasurer.
“The grant is very helpful to us,” Petek said. “We bought an $80,000 ambulance in 2010. We just paid that off using funds from the state.”
The Grindstone Community Fire Department will use $10,000 of the $15,000 grant it received from the state to pay off some debt on two of its fire trucks, said Rich Lenk, the department’s chief.
The remaining funds will be used to outfit two of the department’s 35 active members to provide protective firefighting clothing, Lenk said.
“People seem to think their taxes fund the fire departments,” he said. “But, that’s just not the case.”
Mark Bigam, chief of the Normalville Area Fire Co., said the department will benefit greatly from the $13,130.64 state disbursement. Not only does the amount account for more than 10 percent of the department’s $100,000 budget, they money goes toward paying what is still owed on a fire truck.
“Funds are really getting harder to raise,” he said.