BREWSTER- The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded the Brewster Fire Department an Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) Grant in the amount of $42,710 to purchase personal escape devices for each member of the fire suppression staff.
The grant will also provide training on the use and care of the equipment and fund a full day of training for all firefighters on the use and care of the departments thermal imaging cameras.
The personal escape device is designed to provide each firefighter with the ability to self exit from the upper floors of a building should they become trapped or disoriented while conducting interior fire operations.
While Brewster firefighters train annually on the skills and techniques required to avoid these situations, the dangerous and dynamic environment in which they operate inside a structure can become rapidly untenable.
When this occurs, firefighters must be able to immediately leave the interior of the building.
The purchase of these devices and the mandatory training will provide them with the equipment and skills necessary to conduct a self-exit from any potentially dangerous and life-threatening situation that may develop while operating inside a structure fire.
“The personal escape devices and associated training that is being funded through the AFG Grant will significantly enhance the safety of each of our firefighters operating on the fireground and will complete our goal of providing our fire suppression staff with the highest quality, state-of-the-art personal protective equipment available in today’s market,” said Brewster Fire Chief Moran.
“Our organization and the residents of our community would like to thank FEMA for providing this critical safety related funding to our firefighters.”
