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News Release

Washington County Fire Departments Team Up To Win $2.9 Million Grant For Firefighting Equipment - 09/23/19

Media Release:

 

WASHINGTON COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENTS TEAM UP AND WIN $2.9 MILLION GRANT FOR FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT

 

Washington County’s six fire departments were notified last week that they have received a grant valued at $2,999,000 to replace every one of their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). This grant is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), and is one of the largest AFG grants ever awarded. The six departments will match a total $272,636 to fund the project.

 

This project was coordinated by the Washington County Fire Defense Board, which is made up of each of the Fire Chief’s in Washington County. In 2015, the Fire Chief’s began planning for the replacement of their SCBAs, many of which will reach their end- of-service life in 2021-2022. The Fire Defense Board established a task force to research the latest SCBA technology and make a recommendation for our next generation of SCBAs. A second task force was created to write a federal grant request to help fund the replacement of these packs. This grant application was completed and submitted in October of 2018. The grant was coordinated and will be hosted by Forest Grove Fire & Rescue. In July of 2019 all fire departments in Washington County signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the joint acquisition of these new SCBAs if the grant was successful.

 

This important grant will enable Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Cornelius Fire Department - Oregon, the Gaston Rural Fire District, and Banks Fire District 13 to replace their aging inventory of 427 SCBA with new state of the art breathing apparatus, and fund 318 extra face masks. An SCBA allows a firefighter to enter the toxic and smoke-filled conditions present in every structure fire and on hazardous materials events, providing them with clean, breathable air in hazardous environments. Washington County’s firefighters routinely cross jurisdictional lines to support each other through a coordinated automatic and mutual aid system.

The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire-related hazards by providing direct financial assistance to eligible fire departments, non-affiliated Emergency Medical Services organizations, and State Fire Training Academies. This funding is for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience. According to the FEMA website, there is $345 million committed to support fire and EMS operations nationwide in this fiscal year.

 

The Washington County Fire Defense Board is comprised of the four Fire Chief’s in Washington County. The fire chiefs in each of Oregon’s fire defense board districts annually elect a Fire Defense Board Chief to coordinate interagency operations and conflagration response in accordance with the Oregon State Fire Marshal Mobilization Plan. The current members are Chief David Downey (Hillsboro Fire & Rescue) Chief Deric Weiss

(TVFR), Chief Michael Kinkade (Forest Grove/Cornelius/Gaston) and Chief Rodney Linz (Banks Fire District 13).  The Washington County Fire Defense Board Chief is Chief Michael Kinkade.

Washington County Fire Departments Team Up To Win $2.9 Million Grant For Firefighting Equipment - 09/23/19

Media Release:

 

WASHINGTON COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENTS TEAM UP AND WIN $2.9 MILLION GRANT FOR FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT

 

Washington County’s six fire departments were notified last week that they have received a grant valued at $2,999,000 to replace every one of their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). This grant is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), and is one of the largest AFG grants ever awarded. The six departments will match a total $272,636 to fund the project.

 

This project was coordinated by the Washington County Fire Defense Board, which is made up of each of the Fire Chief’s in Washington County. In 2015, the Fire Chief’s began planning for the replacement of their SCBAs, many of which will reach their end- of-service life in 2021-2022. The Fire Defense Board established a task force to research the latest SCBA technology and make a recommendation for our next generation of SCBAs. A second task force was created to write a federal grant request to help fund the replacement of these packs. This grant application was completed and submitted in October of 2018. The grant was coordinated and will be hosted by Forest Grove Fire & Rescue. In July of 2019 all fire departments in Washington County signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the joint acquisition of these new SCBAs if the grant was successful.

 

This important grant will enable Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Cornelius Fire Department - Oregon, the Gaston Rural Fire District, and Banks Fire District 13 to replace their aging inventory of 427 SCBA with new state of the art breathing apparatus, and fund 318 extra face masks. An SCBA allows a firefighter to enter the toxic and smoke-filled conditions present in every structure fire and on hazardous materials events, providing them with clean, breathable air in hazardous environments. Washington County’s firefighters routinely cross jurisdictional lines to support each other through a coordinated automatic and mutual aid system.

The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire-related hazards by providing direct financial assistance to eligible fire departments, non-affiliated Emergency Medical Services organizations, and State Fire Training Academies. This funding is for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience. According to the FEMA website, there is $345 million committed to support fire and EMS operations nationwide in this fiscal year.

 

The Washington County Fire Defense Board is comprised of the four Fire Chief’s in Washington County. The fire chiefs in each of Oregon’s fire defense board districts annually elect a Fire Defense Board Chief to coordinate interagency operations and conflagration response in accordance with the Oregon State Fire Marshal Mobilization Plan. The current members are Chief David Downey (Hillsboro Fire & Rescue) Chief Deric Weiss

(TVFR), Chief Michael Kinkade (Forest Grove/Cornelius/Gaston) and Chief Rodney Linz (Banks Fire District 13).  The Washington County Fire Defense Board Chief is Chief Michael Kinkade.