Amelia firefighters to get nearly $100,000 for gear

The Amelia Volunteer Fire Department learned Wednesday it will receive a $96,976 federal grant to be used to purchase breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera, Chief Carl McAllister said.
The department applied to the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the award was announced by Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie.
“Local firefighters’ hard work to protect families throughout Louisiana cannot be undervalued. Ensuring safety for all people in Louisiana continues to be a top responsibility,” Vitter said in the grant announcement.
McAllister said the money will be used to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus for 16 firefighters and spare air bottles.
“The air packs that we have are over 20 years old. This will all have the latest technology and help us do our job better, McAllister said.
The balance of the money is for the purchase of a thermal imaging camera.
“That’s very useful in finding trapped people. You can see though smoke, and it’s very useful in finding the seat of the fire. It shows you all the heat,” the chief said.
Duval Arthur, director of the St. Mary Homeland Security Office, said that while he did not apply for the grant through his office, he supports it.
“What they’re purchasing is a standard. A lot of the fire departments that apply for these things get them because of the dangerous types of smoke they deal with. It could be a meth lab or, in this part of the country, you could have a hazardous material and when it catches on fire it could kill you,” Arthur said referring to the asbestos and creosote firefighters commonly deal with.
The 21 volunteers and four paid personnel of the Amelia Volunteer Fire Department responded to 371 calls in 2013, according to McAllister.