The Martinsville Fire Department has been awarded a $99,972 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Mike Jones, chief of the Martinsville Fire Department, said the money will be used to buy new bunker gear for the firefighters, six new air packs to fight interior fires, and to purchase a new cascade system.

“The cascade system replenishes the air supply for the air packs,” Jones said.

In 2006, the Martinsville department received $213,750 from the AFG to purchase a new fire truck. Jones said he ordered the truck in January 2007. “It should be delivered right after the first of the year,” he said.

The new fire truck will be a 2008 pumper-tanker which will hold 1,800 gallons of water with a 1,250 gallon per minute pump, new ladders, portable dump tank and hard suction lines, plus plenty of storage space, Jones said.

“We’ve applied for these grants for probably the last 10 or 12 years,” Jones said. “Last year was the first time we received one of the grants. I think about every department in the county applies for them,” he said.

Jones said the two grants have really helped his department in updating and replacing equipment. “It would have been impossible to finance a new fire truck on our budget,” he said. “The gear that we now have has came to the end of it’s life cycle. It came in really handy when that grant came available so we could replace the outdated gear that we currently have.”

The department presently has 22 volunteer firefighters and three pieces of equipment — a 1981 Chevrolet pumper-tanker that carries 1,500 gallons of water and has a 750 front mount pump; a 1978 International that holds 1,600 gallons of water, with a 750 front mount pump, and a 1975 Ford F 250 4-wheel drive truck for fighting field fires.

“We’re happy that we’re receiving the grants,” Jones said. “It’s really helping out our department.”

Nationally, the AFG awards, which will be distributed in phases, will ultimately provide approximately $490 million to fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical services organizations throughout the country.

AFG awards aim to enhance response capabilities and to more effectively protect the health and safety of the public with respect to fire and other hazards. The grants enable local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations to purchase or receive training, conduct first responder health and safety programs, and buy equipment and response vehicles.

Since 2004, AFG has provided almost $32.13 billion in grants to fire departments and first responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, vehicles and fire prevention activities. AFG is administered cooperatively by two FEMA components: the National Preparedness Directorate and the United States Fire Administration.