$53K Grant Coming To Warminster Fire Department

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — The Warminster Fire Department has received a $53,090 federal grant to reduce the risk of cancer for firefighters.

The Fiscal Year 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The $53,090.90 in federal funding, combined with a $5,309.10 department match, will fund a $58,400 project to put NFPA-compliant gear cleaning equipment in the fire department's stations

The cleaning equipment includes:

• Three PPE washer/extractors, one for each station
• Two PPE drying units
• Plumbing and electrical installation at all three stations

Fire officials said that every fire leaves soot and toxic byproducts of combustion on a firefighter’s turnout gear.

"Those contaminants don’t stay at the scene. They ride back to the station, and they can be absorbed through the skin the next time the gear is worn," fire officials said.

Occupational cancer is one of the most serious health threats facing firefighters today.

Washer/extractors built for turnout gear remove those contaminants without damaging the protective layers that keep our members safe.

"With cleaning equipment in every station, our firefighters will be able to wash their gear after every fire and get it back in service quickly," fire officials said.

Installation will be scheduled once the required federal reviews and infrastructure modifications are complete.