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The fire departments in Cortland County received federal funds secured by the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand to bulk up their personal protective gear inventory.
According to a release on Thursday, the City of Cortland Fire Department will act as a regional grant administrator, helping split the $574,545 among the other two departments in the county. The funds will go toward purchasing self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA). Fifty two of those will go to the Cortland Fire Department, while Marathon will purchase 17 new SCBAs. Willet will get 10 new SCBAs as well.
“All departments have to put in 10% of whatever their portion of funds is,” said Cortland fire chief Wayne Friedman. “The award is critical to the safety of our firefighters, and ultimately to our fire department’s ability to protect the residents of Cortland. The self-contained breathing apparatuses that this award will fund are part of the basic equipment needed by all firefighters to do their job. The financial commitment represented by this grant saves the City of Cortland hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and maintenance costs.”
The grant was allocated through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. Schumer and Gillibrand led the charge in the Senate to save these federal firefighting programs that are set to expire at the end of this year, which delivered this funding to Cortland, the release stated.
“From being on the frontline during COVID to fighting fires, our Cortland firefighters work non-stop keeping our communities safe,” Schumer said. “That is why when I heard our fire departments were struggling to secure enough protective equipment for their hard working firefighters, I promised to deliver the fed dollars to give our heroes the support they need.”
In a release, Sen. Gillibrand praised local firefighters for protecting the county.
“This funding will help ensure that Cortland firefighters are equipped with the resources they need to effectively respond to any emergency situation,” Sen. Gillibrand said. “I will continue to fight to ensure that federal resources are available to support our firefighters so they can continue to keep New Yorkers safe.”
Marathon fire chief Norm Forrest thanked federal leaders for their support of county firefighters, noting the grant is beneficial to taxpayers.
“Receiving this grant couldn’t have come at a more convenient time as it will replace our 15-year old air packs that are continually having maintenance issues,” Forrest said. “Also, this grant is a huge saving to our tax payers. The district will only be responsible to cover 10% of the cost for our 17 new SCBA packs, spare bottles and face pieces.”
Willet fire chief Greg McGowan also provided his input on the federal funding for his department.
“This AFG award is a huge win for a small fire department like ours with limited financial resources. Some of our SCBAs are 25 years old, and with costs spiking in recent years it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep them operational,” McGowan said. “It would be almost impossible for us to afford these new SCBAs without this award.”
