File Photo by Eric Ayres Wheeling Firefighters battle a blaze in the city in this file photo. Money from a grant awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for updated firefighting gear has been delayed because of the ongoing partial government shutdown.

WHEELING – Previously approved grant money for safety equipment in the city of Wheeling is being delayed because of the lingering partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., which as of this week has become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

City officials in Wheeling this month elected to move forward with the purchase of equipment for the Wheeling Fire Department under the assumption that — some day in the near future — the impasse over Department of Homeland Security Funding will come to an end and grants awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency will eventually become available for reimbursement.

During the most recent meeting of Wheeling City Council, officials took action to hold two readings and approve on an emergency basis an ordinance authorizing City Manager Robert Herron to spend $76,563 with Arnold Fire Equipment LLC of Honey Brook, Pa., for fire protection gear.

Officials noted that this purchase is to be charged to the city’s Public Safety fund for now.

“The city has received a FEMA grant for this purchase,” Herron said. “Unfortunately with the government shutdown, we’ve not been able to process that grant. We do have city invoices that we’d like to get paid.”

According to Wheeling Fire Department Public Information Officer Philip Stahl, the grant is for the purchase of 20 sets of personal protective gear for firefighters. This includes new jackets, pants, gloves, boots, helmets and other wearable equipment that will replace outdated personal protective gear.

Herron urged members of city council to fast track the legislation in order to move forward with the purchase.

“It is a reimbursement, which is included in the ordinance,” the city manager noted. “Obviously, FEMA will at some point in time be back in business, in which case we will receive funding for this. But we do need to get moving forward with this purchase at this time.”

This is one federal grant in one community, city officials noted. Similar payments for FEMA grant awards – from flood disaster relief to slip repair projects locally and across the nation – have remained in limbo since the partial government shutdown began on Feb. 13. As of Monday, it officially ranked as the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history at 45 days, surpassing the previous record of 43 days set just last fall as a result of a partisan impasse over healthcare subsidies.

The current stalemate over DHS funding is not expected to end anytime soon, as Congress began a two-week spring recess this week despite the ongoing standoff.

Several federal agencies have been impacted by the ongoing partial government shutdown. In addition to FEMA, the standoff impacts payments and functions of the Transportation Safety Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, the Small Business Administration and some operations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and non-essential workers in a number of other federal agencies under the Homeland Security umbrella.

A key sticking point of the federal funding dispute for DHS focuses on Democrats’ demands for policy reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with funding levels for border security.