By Stephen Landry / slandry@thegardnernews.com

GARDNER — The Gardner Fire Department has received more than $240,000 in federal grant funding to purchase new breathing equipment.

The funding, which was announced by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan on Aug. 5, was awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s fiscal 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.

Fire Chief Richard Ares said the last time his department had purchased critical equipment of this type was in 2007, when it did not have enough funding to buy the apparatus for each firefighter in the station.

“As a result, half of our officers have one brand of equipment and the other half have a different brand,” Ares said. “If any of our firefighters ever have an emergency with their units, they should be thinking about how to quickly protect themselves, not having to worry about which brand of equipment they put on while rushing out the door. This grant allows us to ensure that we are protecting the safety of our employees and helps keep them safe when they run into these dangerous situations.”

Mayor Michael Nicholson applauded the announcement of the grant, saying that the city’s first responders have been going above and beyond in their duties — particularly during the current pandemic — and deserve to have the equipment they need to keep them safe.

“This type of equipment usually has a lifespan of 10 years, and we are well over that on our current equipment,” Nicholson said. “This type of equipment is necessary to keep our firefighters safe, and I’m proud to see us be able to update our existing inventory.”

Capt. Craig Osowski said that self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) technology has become much more advanced in the years since the department last purchased the equipment.

“These are the biggest life-saving tools we have, aside from our radios,” Osowski said, adding that because every member of the department will soon have the same brand of air tank on their backs, both their response time and safety will be vastly improved. “Currently, we have different brands right now, so you have to keep in mind that each one operates a little differently, but now there will be no more wondering which pack do I have on today — these new packs are state of the art.”

Today’s SCBAs, which cost more than $6,000 each, contain Bluetooth technology, voice amplifiers and thermal-imaging cameras, according to Osowski.

“Everything is wireless and built into these packs,” he said.

Officials said the department expects to receive the new equipment within the next five or six weeks.

Since 2001, the AFG program has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critical equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

“There’s no question that the Gardner firefighters who show up to work each day and go above and beyond the call of duty are local heroes,” Trahan said. “They and their loved ones deserve to know that when they show up to work each day, they’ll have the equipment they need to do their jobs as safely as possible and return home after each shift. This federal investment will help deliver that assurance, and I’m happy to help deliver these funds to the department.