Homeland Security grant to be submitted for aerial/pumper fire truck
Local officials will be crossing their fingers that a federal grant from Homeland Security will make it possible to purchase a new pumper truck with aerial capability that would be available to area fire departments. A meeting was conducted last Thursday at the county courthouse with Flora McCormack, director of the grant services program with the Michigan Association of Counties. In the wake of the fire in downtown Rogers City February 12, county commissioner Mike Darga set the meeting up with McCormack, while seeking funding opportunities for ladder trucks at the MAC conference in February. McCormack met with county and city officials from Rogers City to go over step-by-step the process for applying for the Homeland Security grant.
COUNTY DEVELOPMENT Commission director Bill Valentine, who offered to write the narrative for the 60-page online application, said department of Homeland Security wants emergency personnel to be prepared for any type of catastrophic event involving the loss of life and/or property and an aerial truck would help in that regard. The grant application, which would be for a pumper truck with aerial capability, needs to be submitted by Friday. ?It doesn?t necessarily have to be used for high buildings as well,? said Valentine. ?In the case of the school, there could be a fire in the middle of the building. You can get up and reach over things. It helps in long buildings that are 100 feet wide, and you don?t have a way to get up and push water down on top of things.? He said the fire February 12 that completely destroyed The Advance and Big D?s Pizza buildings, and forced The Painted Lady to relocate until repairs can be made, helps the chances of receiving the grant significantly.
?THE PICTURES from The Advance show the tremendous fire and how we could have prevented a lot of damage to The Painted Lady, and they would have been able to get up on top of the fire quicker,? said Valentine. Included in the application will be information regarding several old wooden buildings in Rogers City such as Grulke Hardware, which is quite possibly the oldest structure in town, and the county courthouse. The courthouse is believed to have been constructed in the 1880s. ?This building here is a tinderbox,? said Valentine, in the hallway of the courthouse building last Friday. Attending last Thursday?s grant meeting were Rogers City mayor Beach Hall and city manager John Bruning. Darga said the county would support the grant if it gets to the next level. ?If the city were to apply the grant simply by themselves, they would have a tough time because they (Homeland Security) are going to give grants where it is going to do the most good for the most people, and the city of Rogers City is a small place,? said Valentine. ?By stretching it out and saying, truthfully, that the various townships are going to benefit from this, that is going to make them sit
The city council gave its concurrence at Monday?s meeting to sending in the application. Bruning said he picked up some general hints at the meeting with McCormack that points need to be made clear and concise. The city last purchased a new pumper in the early 1990s also purchased a new ice piece of equipment in the next six or seven years. If the aerial truck were to cost $600,000, the local match would be about $30,000. Since the city has mutual agreements will all of the fire departments in Presque Isle County, the truck would be immediately available anywhere in the county, if needed.
HOMELAND SECURITY usually funds 25 percent or less of the grants they receive, Valentine said. ?So it is a very competitive situation,? said Valentine. ?We have to put in all the right buzz words and say all the things that are necessary in catching their attention.? Seven fire districts were included in the grant. Local entities could be asked to contribute a five percent match. The city had been exploring the possibility of purchasing a refurbished aerial truck, but federal officials from Homeland Security would prefer the purchase of a new piece of equipment. Information on the grant was only made available in late February. The deadline to file the application is April 7.