Firefighter Fitness Aided By FEMA Grant

By Andrew Gorosko

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the United Fire Company of Botsford an almost $50,000 grant, which the Botsford firefighters will use, in part, to obtain exercise equipment to stay physically fit.

Botsford Fire Chief Steve Belair said Thursday obtaining the expensive equipment will allow the volunteer firefighters to stay in shape and also to be in the Botsford firehouse when fire calls come in.

Besides purchasing exercise equipment, the Botsford firefighters will create a fund designated to keep firefighters medically and psychologically sound, he said.

Chief Belair said Botsford firefighters applied for the funding to obtain exercise equipment, which they otherwise would not be able to afford. He said he hopes that the equipment purchases start by the beginning of 2002.

The FEMA grant is in the amount of $49,854. Botsford firefighters will contribute about $5,000 as their part of the cost-sharing program, Chief Belair said.

The chief said the grant money will be put to useful purposes, which will benefit firefighters in the course of their duties. The United Fire Company of Botsford is one of the town’s five independent volunteer fire companies. The Botsford Firehouse is on South Main Street, just north of Botsford Hill Road.

The firefighters are receiving the grant under FEMA’s Firefighters Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act grant program. The money is intended to ensure that firefighters are adequately prepared to fight fires.

The grant is part of a $100 million FEMA grant program this fiscal year for fire department training, equipment, and fitness, according to the office of US Senator Christopher Dodd, which announced the grant award on October 10.

“In light of the recent tragic and heart-wrenching events, we recognize more than ever that firefighters are the domestic defenders of the security we too often take for granted. First on the scene, first into danger, they deserve to have first-rate resources to help them do their job,” the senator said in a statement.