Redfield FD buys new gear with new grant

REDFIELD, Kan. -- The small Redfield Fire Department recently received some big assistance from the federal government.

In January, the Bourbon County District No. 4 fire department received a $40,000 Assistance to Firefighters Operations and Safety Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA awards the grants to fire departments across the country to enhance their ability to protect the public and fire service personnel from fire and related hazards.

On Thursday, Redfield Fire Chief Gary Judd said the grant money would help pay for all new equipment, protective gear and safety materials for his 17-person volunteer fire response unit. The new items will replace old equipment and gear the department has used for years, Judd said.

"I think they're going to be real happy," he said. "We've been using all these hand-me-downs from other departments."

Judd said the grant money will pay for new firefighter clothing and gear such as helmets, coats, pants, boots, hoods, goggles, gloves, and special jackets that the firefighters wear when battling grass fires. Some of the new equipment that will be funded through the grant include flashlights and other safety materials, he said.

Judd said the department will be presented with all of the new equipment and gear at 7 p.m., Tuesday, in the Redfield Fire Station and Community Building, 402 W. Fourth St. Anyone who is interested in viewing all of the items that will be funded through the grant are welcome to attend the presentation, Judd said.

"We think it's going to be great for the department, and we thought everybody would want to see where some of their taxpayer money goes," he said.

Judd added that he and Scott Township District No. 5 firefighter Tom Applegate applied for the grant in 2007. The Redfield Fire Department will pay for 5 percent of all of the items funded through the grant, and the FEMA grant will fund the remainder of the cost, Judd said.

Judd said he feels that Applegate, who possesses past grant writing experience, was instrumental in helping the department to secure the grant. Applegate's experience and knowledge proved to be beneficial and important during the grant application process.

"If it wasn't for him, I don't think we would have gotten it done," Judd said of Applegate.

According to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Web site, www.firegrantsupport.com, the primary goal of the grant program is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical services organizations nationwide.

Since 2001, the grants have helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards, the site said.

In 2005, the U.S. Congress reauthorized the grant program for an additional five years through 2010.