Belmont County EMS, Police Deptartment Get Grants
Three local emergency squads and one police department were notified Thursday they were awarded grant money for life-saving equipment, ambulances and a police cruiser.
The Ohio Development Services Agency awarded 49 Local Government Innovation Program and Local Government Safety Capital Grant program grants totaling $10 million to help local communities across the Buckeye State enhance public safety and cut costs.
“Communities are working together to improve their safety services and save taxpayers’ money,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency.
Chief Jim Horton of the Short Creek Joint Fire District said the district received $303,479 for a shared services grant to be used for the purchase of a new four-wheel-drive ambulance, a Chevy Tahoe that will be used as a “first responder vehicle,” and new cardiac heart monitors.
“This is the reason we started the joint fire district — to make us more competitive for grant money,” Horton said, thanking Ohio Rep. Frank Hoagland’s office for assistance with the application. “We are thankful for whatever state or federal money we can get that helps us from having to ask for more money from our residents. We will continue to aggressively compete for grant money.”
Horton said the four-wheel-drive vehicles are necessary in his district because of the need to get to remote areas quickly, mostly due to the increase in pipeline activity related to the oil and gas industry.
President of the Belmont County Fire & Squad Association Allan Ketzell said that in the first round of the LGIP and LGSCG grants last year, only two entities were awarded grant money out of 13 eastern Ohio Appalachian counties.
Ketzell noted the association applied for grant money on behalf of fire departments across the county to purchase life-saving Lucas 3 automatic CPR devices, which list for $18,149.20 each. The association will be able to purchase the Lucas devices at a cost of $15,138 each.
The association received a total of $500,000 in grant money for the purchase of 34 of the Lucas 3 devices, plus EMS protocol software that will help technicians across the county with proper treatment that complies with federal, state and county standards.
The Yorkville Police Department received $28,000 for the purchase of a new police cruiser during this round of the LGSCG grants, and Mayor Blair Closser is thankful.
The villages of Belmont and Bethesda also applied jointly for a grant this round and received $147,344 to purchase a K-9, two police cruisers and video recording equipment to be used by both communities.
COMMENTS