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EAST LIVERPOOL - East Liverpool Fire Department (ELFD) recently received a grant to update its hazardous material equipment.
Fire Chief Antony Cumo said the department received a State Homeland Security Preparedness Grant in the amount of $174,432.
Cumo said the department has received support through the grant for the past three to four years.
Three years ago, the department received $84,000 for Area Ray monitoring equipment. Last year the department received $54,000 for radios, allowing every member of the department to have a new radio, which he said was nice because the department's current radios were 10 to 13 years old. The department also received funds through the grant to purchase a new side-by-side and trailer.
With the most recent grant, $120,000 will be going toward the purchase of a new truck for the haz-mat team. Cumo said the truck will replace the one the department currently uses to tow trailers and a boom trailer for the Ohio River in the event anything ever leaks down the river. He said the department will be able to work with West Virginia agencies to get the boom out into the river.
Cumo also said the grant will allow more equipment to be moved into the trailers and leave the department with less vehicles to maintain.
"Getting this truck is really going to help us upgrade everything for the haz-mat team," Cumo said. "This grant is 100% funded so there is no match needed for it. The city pays up front and they will get reimbursed."
Cumo said the remaining $54,000 of the grant will be used to order six Level A suits for the haz-mat team. He described the suits as the big ones that allow the team members to wear their airparks under the suit.
The department currently has nine Level A suits that are well over 10 years old. They are good suits that get tested yearly, but this year one of them failed due to their aging. The suits are going to fail more often as they get older, he said.
The grant money will also be used to purchase non-sparking tools so the department can work in volatile areas without creating sparks.
Additionally, the department will be purchasing a complete leak kit that will be able to plug leaks in semi-trucks, pipes or anything that has a leak.
Cumo said that over the years the department has used all the bits and pieces to the leak kit and have had to replace pieces one at a time, so they are getting a brand-new kit.
Two computers and a printer will also be purchased for the haz-mat command center along with a camera. Cumo said he wasn't sure what type of camera it would be, but he is looking at something that will provide a 360-degree view from the command center and do photo or video. That decision will be made as they get closer to the purchasing point and have prices on the cameras available.
"It's going to be nice to be able to get this new equipment; $170,000 is a lot of money," Cumo said. "The pickup truck we have now is a utility truck and has gotten to the point now where we beat that thing up for 12 or 13 years, and it's worn out."
Cumo noted that it has gotten to the point where he doesn't let the crew run lights or sirens in it, and they are going to take the lights off of it and use it as a standard truck.
Cumo said he hopes to have the new truck by the end of the year because of how bad they need the truck, but they have to go through the process of bidding it out or getting quotes for the truck and then get prices for having it outfitted for the lights, sirens, cap, slider, radio and other items.
Cumo said he is hopeful that the truck the department has can then be used by the fire inspector or fire marshal to do inspections when they get that program up and running.
For the other items being purchased with the grant, Cumo said he will have to come up with the specs for the items and have the city make the purchases and then get reimbursed for them.
Cumo noted that when grant money is involved, it can be a time-consuming process because they want to make sure the grant money is spent appropriately.
Being the regional haz-mat team, having updated equipment is crucial for the department, Cumo said.
"We are very thankful for that grant. That grant is really helping with updating equipment for the haz-mat team," he said. "With our state verification, we are getting audited for the haz-mat team in September 2028. The state will come in and audit our haz-mat team and make sure everything is done that has to be done; cross T's dot I's and documentation and equipment, so a lot of the equipment that we have no upgraded is stuff we needed."
Cumo said he is just getting into the grant and getting it going, and he spoke with a representative from the state Wednesday to see how they get started with the purchase of the truck and gathering the specs for the other equipment to begin purchasing.
Cumo is currently looking at other grants for which the department could apply to continue updating the department's equipment.