BVFD Receives Grant for Protective Gear, RIT Training

Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company has received a $102,750 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

The bulk of the grant ($99,750) will go towards the purchase of 45 new sets of protective gear, according to Company Secretary Sara Ellis.

Each of the Fire Department’s 67 members has at least one set of fitted gear. According to federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, all gear has a 10-year life, after which it has to be disposed of. The new influx of jackets, pants, headgear, breathing apparatuses and boots will help keep the Company’s total even as older equipment ages out.

Ellis said the department will be writing up quotes to send out to bid next week and expects to order the gear within the next six to eight weeks. The equipment won’t arrive until the fall however, since everything is custom made.

The remaining $3,000 is dedicated to RIT training, which stands for Rapid Intervention Team, which responds when a firefighter is down inside a burning building.

The Fire Company has secured this grant four of the last five years, garnering close to $500,000, according to Ellis.