Local volunteer fire department awarded $150,000 FEMA grant

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. ( WTRF ) – The New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department (NMVFD) is proud to announce they’ve been awarded $150,000 in grant funding for 17 new air packs.

These funds are being distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a part of their Assistance to Firefighter Grants Program (AFG).

Senator Joe Manchin released a statement regarding the grant on July 11 regarding the funding.

“For generations, our brave West Virginia firefighters have risked their lives to protect our communities. This funding will bolster public safety and strengthen emergency preparedness by ensuring that West Virginia’s fire departments have the resources they need to operate effectively. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for funding that supports first responders who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.”

Sen. Joe Manchin | (Independent) West Virginia

NMVFD Vice President, Robi Littell, has been with the department for nearly 30 years and has spent the last year securing these funds for the department.

Littell says in his time with the department, they’ve never been able to purchase new air packs and were only able to purchase a few new ones in the last few years.

“It’s going to be used to buy 17 new air packs, along with spare bottles and hopefully a rip pack for the safety of the fire. We put them on our backs, and they cover our face. And that allows us to go to hazardous environments in smoke filled buildings. Stuff like that allows us to breathe. So, we can go in and put out the fire or search for victims.”

Robi Littell | Vice President, New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department

RIP stands for “rapid intervention pack.” It is a lightweight, portable breathing station firefighters use to assist fellow firefighters who are in an immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) area when they are low or completely out of air.

OSHA.gov defines an IDLH area as “an atmospheric concentration of any toxic, corrosive or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat to life or would cause irreversible or delayed adverse health effects or would interfere with an individual’s ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere,” which firefighters often face when responding to calls like structure fires.

Littell says responding to dangerous situations, like structure fires, is what makes having updated gear so important.

Littell says NMVFD plans to match $20,000 since the total cost to replace the air packs is $170,000.

He said it would have taken the department years to raise enough money to replace their air packs, and they would not have been able to replace them all at once.

Volunteer fire departments in every community rely heavily on their active members and support from the community.

“We need we need more support. We need more people to come out and volunteer. We’re always shorthanded.”

Robi Littell | Vice President, New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering with the NMVFD, please visit their Facebook page by clicking on this link .

According to Sen. Manchin’s press release, the AFG program is designed to increase firefighter and public safety.

Awards granted through the program provide critical resources to fire departments to equip and train first responders.

Four other departments including NMVFD were awarded money from FEMA’s AFG program.

• $150,228 – New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department, New Manchester
• $94,771 – Lumberport Fire Department, Lumberport
• $81,818 – City of Bridgeport, Bridgeport
• $53,333 – Worthington Volunteer Fire Department, Worthington
• $25,714 – Marlinton Fire Department, Marlinton

Sen. Manchin says, “I’m pleased FEMA is investing more than $400K in five of our local fire departments.”

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