F.F.A.M.

AFG Grant Provides Air Packs To Ste Genevieve

afgAssistant Chief Rick Drury, Assistant Chief Mick Schwent and Fire Chief John Pfaff last week demonstrated for the Ste. Genevieve County Commission how the new air packs purchased with assistance from a federal grant program and community betterment funds will benefit six local fire departments.

Thanks to almost $1 million from a federal grant, volunteer firefighters in six of Ste. Genevieve County’s fire departments can breathe easier.

St. Mary, Ste. Genevieve, Zell, Weingarten, Ozora and Bloomsdale volunteer fire departments all took part in the effort to secure an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). The grant was approved July 8. The six fire departments had to chip in matching funds totaling $48,985 to qualify for the grant.

The main components of the $979,700 grant are 102 new 4,500 psi air packs. The cost of the air packs represented the bulk of the grant’s total. The new air packs are state-of-the-art and will replace equipment that didn’t match from department to department.

“That’s the great thing about this new equipment,” Bloomsdale Fire Chief John Pfaff said. “Everybody’s trained on the same air pack. Everybody’s equipment is set up the same.

“I’ve been to big fires where there have been four or five types of air bottles there. Each guy had to be trained on each specific air bottle. It’s not the best situation.”

Ste. Genevieve County Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson said when the county signed a tax abatement with Holcim (U.S.) Inc. in 2006 to build the nation’s largest cement plant near Bloomsdale, Holcim agreed to pay the county $200,000 per year in lieu of taxes for community betterment. Each January, a committee that includes the three commissioners decides how to issue those funds.

The committee approved the $2,000 fee out of those community betterment funds for a grant writer to complete the proposal for all six fire departments. Nelson said approval of the grant didn’t stand a chance without a strong written proposal.

“We try to cater to the fire departments because they’re all volunteers,” Nelson said. “They don’t have a steady source of revenue. They don’t have a lot of money to work with. This year they asked for $2,000 to hire a grant writer. The way you apply for a grant makes all the difference in the world. If these new masks prevent one serious injury, they’re worth every dollar.”