NEW SCOTLAND – The air will soon be cleaner in and around the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Department.

The department just received a federal grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security in the amount of $48,450.
Fred Spaulding, the department’s fire chief, said the money will be used to get "Ward diesel no-smoke units" installed on each of Onesquethaw’s six pieces of equipment. The units, made by Ward Diesel filter Systems, Inc., are used to filter carbons, carcinogens, and soot out of the vehicles’ emissions, Spaulding said.
The units will help provide a safer environment, he said, and will "create better air quality within our station."

Senator, Charles Schumer ( Dem., N.Y.) made the announcement on Aug. 10. The money comes from a fund called the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which was established in 2001, after the terrorist attacks, under the Department of Homeland Security.
The program "came about as firefighters didn’t have updated equipment," Bethany Lesser, press secretary with Schumer’s office, told The Enterprise.
The program, passed with bipartisan support, was established to "provide funding for both career and volunteer fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical services providers," Lesser said.
The cost of equipment and training has skyrocketed, she said. "Someone needed to help pay; otherwise it would be taxpayer money," she said, referring to local levees. She added, "Communities are already stretched thin."

The grant program has awarded money to fire departments all over the country. According to the program’s website, in the state of New York, $37 million has been awarded to 380 departments.
Spaulding said the Onesquethaw department is responsible for coming up with 5 percent of the awarded amount. "So it is not a free ride," he explained.

Competitive process
"It’s a competitive process," said Lesser, of the selection process for the grant.

Departments submit their applications, explaining what they have need for, and what the money, if awarded, would be spent on, Lesser told The Enterprise.

The Department of Homeland Security reviews applications, and makes its selection based on the needs of the fire departments, and what Homeland Security is looking to support, she said.
Lesser said the program has been successful at improving fire safety around the country. Because of this, she says, "Congress has raised the amount of money authorized for the program from $100 million for fiscal year 2001 to $950 million in fiscal year 2006."

But, she says, the Bush Administration has tried for the last three years, to cut the program entirely. Lesser says that each year, the amount of money available for the program gets cut back. For 2006, Congress was able to restore the money to $542 million, but that is just over half of the $950 million that was authorized by Congress, she said.
Fred Spaulding, and the rest of the volunteers at the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Department are looking forward to "getting up to speed" and having a "cleaner environment" around the station, Spaulding told The Enterprise.