By Jonah Frangiosa
The Eagle-Tribune
GROVELAND, Mass. — Four local fire departments will share more than $600,000 in federal grants, bringing in new tech and potentially faster response times for each station.
Fire Chief Robert Valentine announced that the Groveland Fire Department, along with Georgetown, Merrimac, and Amesbury departments, have received a joint federal assistance grant of $614,728 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ( FEMA ) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.
This funding will be used for upgrades in equipment, including portable radios and accessories like microphones, batteries, and chargers. The new radios will replace older, failing models, improving communication within and between the departments.
The new portable radios offer more advanced technology that will allow transmission across multiple radio bands. The previous technology could only operate on one. This access is crucial during critical incidents that require multiple agencies to respond. Having more reliable equipment reduces the safety risks to both firefighters and the public.
Each community will provide a 10-percent match toward their share of the equipment cost, which is part of the grant’s requirements. It has not been determined how the funds will be divided between the four departments.
Amesbury Deputy Fire Chief Robert Serino and Georgetown Fire Lt. Brian Belfiore filed the joint grant application.
This award arrived four months after fire departments in Lynnfield, Georgetown, Nahant, Beverly, and Reading received $1.6 million from the AFG program.
The program provides resources to firefighters and emergency medical services, targeting upgrades in equipment, protective gear, vehicles, training, and other utilities to protect the public and personnel.
Nearing a Dec. 20 deadline, the program is expected to distribute 2,000 awards with a total of $291.6 million in available funding nationally.
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