The Tallassee Fire Department has received another Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG).
The $282,390 grant will fund new safety equipment. It will purchase 45 breathing masks, 30 self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) packs and 60 air bottles.
“We have already placed the order,” Tallassee fire chief Eric Jones said. “It has an anticipated ship date of Sept. 10.”
The equipment is ordered through a pricing program for governmental agencies that helps expedite the purchase process since it has already been bid. The grant requires 5% matching funds of $14,120. But it is a deal to replace the equipment to safely fight fires.
“A lot of our SCBA has aged out already,” Jones said.
Most of the old SCBA equipment will be taken out of service as it will not pass inspection because of its age.
“We will be better equipped to protect firefighters from fire and heat,” Jones said. “There will be fewer contaminations.”
The grant comes on the heels of a AFG funding for a new fire truck for the department. Earlier this year the department received a $381,000 AFG grant to purchase a new brush truck. The truck has been ordered but the wait time is far longer than the SCBA equipment.
“We anticipate to get it in 2026,” Jones said.
The two AFG grants go along with a $73,000 FEMA grant for a generator, and a $29,000 Alabama Law Enforcement Agency grant for turnout gear. It’s a total of $788,000 and it’s all been awarded in the last 12 months after years of planning and applying for grant funding.
Jones is thankful the grants provided the majority of the funding for the equipment leaving the fire department and City of Tallassee with less funding to come up with.
“I don’t think we would have been able to do all this without the grants,” Jones said. “The grants are major with everything the city has going on in infrastructure.”
The nearly $800,000 in grant funding only required approximately $39,000 in local matching funds. The generator will be used to power the fire department during extended power outages. It can also be used to temporarily power sewage lift stations to avoid sewage spills when pump stations lose power.
The grant funding also means the Tallassee Fire Department can better serve properties outside the Tallassee city limits but still inside the Tallassee fire district. The equipment also equips Tallassee Fire Department personnel aid neighboring departments on calls who in turn aid Tallassee as well.
“We can be a better mutual aid partner when we are called to help,” Jones said. “It also means everyone can be safer when responding to a call.”