The Chattanooga Fire Department has been notified by the Department of Homeland Security that it has been awarded a grant of $721,920 to upgrade personal protective equipment for the firefighters.
Specifically, the money will be used to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that can used by the firefighters for day-to-day operations, and large-scale events that might require a regional response, officials said.
Fire Chief Jim Coppinger said the department has applied for funding from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for many years. “We actually applied for this grant last year and just received official notification today,” he said.
“This is great news and we look forward to buying the new equipment as soon as possible,” he added.
The state-of-the-art SCBA are compliant with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and meet the new standards required when responding to incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) weapons. “Since this department is in the process of forming regional response teams for the ten-county Tennessee Homeland Security District (#3), the new SCBA will certainly enhance our response capabilities, and improve firefighter safety at the same time,” said Chief Coppinger.
The federal grant requires match of local funds totaling $180,480. “That’s a bargain when you consider how much it would have cost if we had to make this purchase solely with local tax dollars,” said Chief Coppinger.