Hartford Fire Department Gets AFG Grant To Help Purchase New SCBA's

HARTFORD - The Hartford Fire Department received the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant through FEMA this year.

The Hartford Fire Department was awarded $80,952. These funds will be used to replace their current SCBA’s. They received 12 new SCBA's and 24 bottles with the grant.

Then in July of 2020, the Hartford Fire Department was awarded a small equipment grant through the Office of the State Fire Marshall for $15,800. These funds were used to get a new battery-operated ventilation fan and a new thermal imaging camera. These two pieces of equipment alone are so crucial and necessary tools, whether it's to get the smoke out of the area or use the camera for hot spots, fire extension, and/or search and rescue. The fire department has been without these two pieces of equipment for approximately a year.

This is a big win for the Hartford Fire Department and the Village of Hartford. Receiving these grants this year they have saved the village approximately $95,000 on needed aged equipment.

“We work on a small budget, so trying to budget for these funds is hard to do with the price it costs per SCBA ($6,000-$7,500)," Hartford Fire Chief Jarrod Horyn said. "We are a small village that runs on average 200 calls a year with 15 percent of that being mutual aid to other communities."

“I took over the Fire Chief position in July of 2017," he continued. "Times were tough for our department, numbers were down, and getting people to volunteer to the department was a struggle. One of my goals, when I took over, was to replace our SCBA’s, and this year I have done that. It’s a big weight on my shoulder. I couldn’t have made this accomplishment without the help of Dan Rogers from the Witt Volunteer Fire Department on helping our department write the AFG grant.”

Volunteer departments are always looking for individuals to become volunteer firefighters. If you want to join a department go to your local department and ask about volunteering.

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