The Milford Fire Department is celebrating a federal grant that will help them to upgrade some of their equipment.
The fire department was recently awarded $441,000 by the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, a grant provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S Representative Rosa DeLauro was present on Monday with the Milford Fire Dept. to celebrate the award and improvements coming to the department.
“What we need to be doing is investing in the modern equipment for the ability of the department to protect all of us, no room for error when it comes to public safety.”
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Milford Fire Chief, Anthony Fabrizi said the grant will help them purchase new Self Breathing Apparatus and Rapid Intervention Team Packs.
“SEBA’s are the lifeline of every brave firefighter, protecting every breath from toxic atmospheres and life-threatening conditions in which they operate,” Fabrizi said.
Milford Fire Department Battalion Chief of Training and Safety Jason Dombrowski spoke about the importance of getting new SEBA’s due to the current ones reaching 13 years of use.
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He said the devices can help firefighters prevent short-term illnesses such as bronchial spasms and long-term illnesses such as cancer.
“For us, we have a rigorous schedule to make sure our guys are fit tested properly and these masks and everything else that we use will actually go a long way to protect us when we’re in those environments to prevent those things from happening to our firefighters.”
Chief Dombrowski added the department is still working through how many new breathing apparatuses they will be able to order.
In addition to the City of Milford, the City of North Haven was awarded $75,000 and the Town of Middlefield was awarded $79,000 from the Assistance Firefighters Grant.
