"Boy did we make out like a bandit," said Fire Inspector Jerry Streich of the Ramsey, Minnesota Fire Department, which received a $65,000 grant for fire prevention in 2001 and a $168,000 grant for breathing apparatus in 2002.
Ramsey is actually one of several fortunate and successful fire departments who were awarded grants in both 2001 and 2002, generally in different areas of need. As Firehouse.com reported in October, a check of successful departments in eight of the 50 states revealed 17 departments that were successful both years. A complete check of all states would probably reveal additional two-grant departments.
The 2003 round of FIRE Act grant announcements is expected to begin in June.
Ramsey, a city of 20,000 is located in the northwest portion of the Twin City metropolitan area. Streich said the population has doubled in just the past 15 years and continues to expand because of a growth program to build $1 billion of commercial and residential real estate. So far they have 2,400 new homes, a new town center and city hall, and this is still only the beginning.
"We really don't have restaurants, high rises, etc, but that's coming within the next five years," Streich said. He said this growth is very likely part of the reason they got their grants. When they applied, they stressed the growth issue and provided census statistics, and explained that they had no fire prevention program and were using non-compliant SCBA.
The Ramsey Fire Department has 37 paid on call firefighters and two full time firefighters, Streich and Fire Chief Dean Kapler. They recently built a second fire station and are planning a third, and operate in an area of 28.9 square miles.
Streich said their total budget adopted for 2003 is about $739 thousand, a significant cut from 2002 which was over $1 million. "Due to the economic status of the state of Minnesota, our city has been affected," he said. "If it were not for the grant awards, we may have not seen new equipment for some time."
Not everyone in the department believed they had a chance at getting awarded one grant, let alone two. "We heard comments that, 'They're not going to give it to us, it's not worth the effort.' That's simply not true," Streich said. "It doesn't matter how big or little you are, you just have to specify your need. It's like playing the lottery. You can't win if you don't play."
Streich said he and the chief had never applied for a grant before, so they attended the grant writing programs that FEMA offered and learned that the most important thing is to apply for what FEMA is most eager to fund, such as basic firefighting equipment and initiation of fire prevention programs.
In 2001, when departments were allowed to submit two applications, Ramsey officials submitted one for the fire prevention program and one for breathing apparatus. Although the SCBA was their greater need, they were awarded only the fire prevention grant.
"We found that we clearly didn't show that we needed the SCBA, so we rewrote it," Streich said, and they tried again in 2002. "We weren't sure how FEMA was going to grade the scores. There was talk that you wouldn't get two," he said. This time the last line read, "Above all, SCBA is what we need. If we were to get any of the other items it would truly be a blessing."
And although it seemed like a long shot, the department got what they asked for. "I was really surprised about the second grant. I was just tickled about that," Streich said.
With their first award of $57,522 plus the department's 10 percent match, the department has implemented a comprehensive city fire prevention program. They now run the NFPA Riskwatch program in schools and purchased a "hazard house" to demonstrate household dangers to children. "It's a $7,000 dollhouse," Streich said, which has numerous features such as smoke emission and smoke detector sounds.
They also bought a computer, firehouse software, a printer, laptop, power point projector, and equipment for the hearing impaired in the community - a fire alarm that shakes the bed and flashes lights, and a TDD for telephone conversations. They also placed lock boxes at city buildings to eliminate the time wasted and injuries incurred when firefighters have to force entry. In addition, they purchased fire investigation equipment, a digital camera and a fire prevention Ford F150 pick up truck.
In 2002 the department used the $151,098 they received, plus their 10 percent match, to purchase new breathing apparatus and bring themselves into compliance with NIOSH and the NFPA. They got 20 complete sets of SCBA with 20 additional bottles and 20 additional face pieces. The new equipment has an integrated PASS device, a heads up display, redundant alarms and lighter bottles, Streich said. The department just received the new SCBA and began training on it two weeks ago, and the firefighters feel much safer and more comfortable, he said. The SCBA they were using before was 14 years old.
The grant also made it possible for them to purchase a mobile SCBA air compressor to share with departments in the region, so they can fill bottles at the scene of an incident. They are still in the process of purchasing a thermal imaging camera, and may actually have a little money left over because vendors have been so competitive. Streich said vendors appear to bid higher when departments are applying for grants, and then ask about $1,000 less when departments actually come back to buy. Ramsey officials are hoping to spend any left over money on an air compressor for the station to go with the new high pressure system in their bottles.
Streich said these grants have definitely improved the morale and safety of the department's firefighters. "And it's shown the community that we care and are being proactive to prevent fires from occurring," Streich said, "and that we're taking a proactive role of investigating why fires are occurring." He said the fire investigation equipment and training has already helped convict people and get back money to cover fire losses. "People are starting to see if they start fires they will get convicted," the fire inspector said.
