The Auburn Fire Department is hoping federal funding will help it purchase new equipment.
City Council voted Thursday to authorize Chief Mark Fritz to apply for a FEMA AFG microgrant to replace thermal imaging cameras and EMT training equipment.
Before the vote, Fritz told the council that the department has benefitted greatly from the grant program in the past.
“The dept writes for an AFG grant every year,” said Fritz. “Those efforts have brought into the community in the neighborhood of $5 million which allows the department to continue to [provide] and improve services to the community while reducing that cost at the taxpayer level.”
If awarded the $50 thousand grant, the department would purchase five thermal imaging cameras to replace the current stock which is over seven years old and no longer supported by the manufacturer. It would purchase the following emergency medical training equipment: an airway mannequin, an airway trainer, a CPR mannequin, a Sager Splint, a suction unit, a fracture pack, a traction splint, four stethoscope kits, one traction device, one package of packaged splints, and two airway kits.
The grant would cover 90% of the costs of the equipment, meaning the department would need to provide just under $5,000 of its own funds as the grant requires a 10% cost share.
