Manchester FD receives grant for new SCBAs

By Ryan Applegate

People’s Defender

The Manchester Fire Department has been awarded $209,523.80 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). On August 20, the Manchester Village Council voted unanimously to approve a 5% match of $10,476.20, bringing the total funding to $220,000 for the purchase of new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs).

The AFG, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is a grant program designed to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and emergency medical service organizations across the United States.

Established in 2001, the AFG has enabled firefighters and emergency medical personnel to obtain critical equipment, protective gear, vehicles, training, and other resources necessary to protect both the public and emergency responders, according to information available on FEMA’s website.

“The grant we applied for is to purchase new SCBAs,” volunteer Lieutenant Brian Edwards told The People’s Defender. “We are buying 22 brand-new SCBAs, which include a regulator, cylinder, backplate and harness, and facepiece.”

Lieutenant Edwards and the Manchester Fire Department applied for the same grant through FEMA two years ago but were denied.

“We may have requested too much in the grant or replacing SCBAs might not have been a priority then,” Edwards said of the previous denial.

In 2023, the Manchester Fire Department purchased used SCBAs to replace the village’s previous personal protective equipment (PPE), which was bought in 1992.

According to Edwards, the new SCBAs will remain viable for up to 30 years.

“The oxygen bottles will last 15 years, and as long as we keep up with proper maintenance, the other components can last up to 30 years,” Edwards advised.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) established inspection standards with the publication of NFPA 1981. The guidelines require inspections after each use to check for low or empty bottles and mandate that components and facepieces are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, checked for excessive wear and damage, and tested for proper function. SCBAs are also subject to monthly checks by personnel and annual servicing by an authorized repair facility.

Lieutenant Edwards assembled the grant package and led the effort in preparing the submission. Bob Harper, a former fire captain from the Cincinnati area, wrote the narrative for the grant.

SCBAs are standard PPE for firefighters entering structure fires, areas with concentrated gas leaks, and any situation where a high concentration of carcinogens is present.

“We have anywhere from 20 to 30 structure fires a year,” Edwards estimated. “This equipment is vital to the safety of our career and volunteer firefighters in the village and will see a lot of use.”

According to Edwards, the Manchester Fire Department has benefited from several grants over the last two years, using the funds to purchase other essential equipment, including battery-operated hydraulic rescue tools and air bags.