Batavia Fire Department receives grant to help fund equipment

The Batavia Fire Department has received a federal grant to help fund $262,250 worth of self-contained breathing apparatus and other related items.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant, awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will fund $238,409 of the equipment costs, and the rest will be covered by the city, Fire Chief Randy Deicke said.

Aldermen on Tuesday expressed support for completing the purchase.

"This isn't the first time the city has been the beneficiary of (Deicke) seeking out these (grant) opportunities and allowing us to purchase equipment at a substantial discount," City Administrator Laura Newman said.

The new self-contained breathing apparatus, manufactured by Scott, will replace the fire department's existing set that is 13 years old and "very worn," Deicke said. The grant also will cover spectacle kits for inside the masks, adapters and filters for use in biological or toxic hazards, "rapid intervention" air packs, and several additional cylinders for training purposes.