LITTLE VALLEY — For the Little Valley Volunteer Fire Department, any additional help they can get is greatly appreciated and put to good use.
The department last year received a nearly $100,000 Assistance to Firefighters (ATF) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for new equipment, something they’ve needing for several years.
With their grant, the Little Valley department recently purchased 10 Scott SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) Air Packs, including masks, and a rescue RIT-Pak.
The department also acquired a new Jaws of Life cutter with assistance from state Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean. Shinners said Young approached the department last year and suggested they apply for a Criminal Justice Services grant for up to $10,000.
“These new ones now will cut through a guardrail where our old ones wouldn’t even come close,” Shinners added.
They were also able to purchase a power pack compatible with their old Jaws of Life.
The department was awarded the ATF grant in 2016, Shinners said, adding First Assistant Chief Vance Hess took the lead in pursuing the funds.
FEMA looks at an applying department’s equipment with an aim to replace what is not compliant with national safety standards, Shinners said. Because the previous RIT-Pak was 18 years old and the SCBA packs were going on 15 years old, he said it was at the point where they were not National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) compliant.
“$100,000 is like five years of our equipment budget. We can’t buy this stuff without a FEMA grant,” Hess explained.
The department purchased the equipment through Municipal Emergency Services, Shinners said. The full cost of the 10 air packs was $104,326. FEMA awarded $99,485 with the remaining five percent coming from the department.
Because the SCBA packs are much newer, they have a thermal imaging camera on the face mask as opposed to on the belt near the waist. Shinners said that was one of the major factors in going with the packs from Scott. The new air bottles are larger and last about 15 minutes long, but are also lighter than the old ones, making them weigh about the same.
The department also purchased a Pak-Tracker locator system, which instantly alerts the receiver if a firefighter stops moving after a certain amount of time and helps someone with the locator find them.
“If there’s neighboring departments that go with Scott packs, too, and they have somebody that goes down, we’ll be able to find them also,” he said.
Additionally, the department acquired a rescue RIT-Pak, which Hess said has a canister and facemask if there is a civilian in a smoke-filled building or if a firefighter’s equipment malfunctions.
“We could take that whole pack right in and give it right to that other person,” Shinners explained. “So we got the 10 packs plus the rescue pack in case somebody else is down.”
The Little Valley Volunteer Fire Department was one of four area departments to receive a grant from FEMA from 2016. The others were Hinsdale, Yorkshire and Portville, totalling nearly $300,000.
(Contact reporter Kellen Quigley at kquigleysp@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Kellen_Quigley)