Austintown Fire Department awarded $110,000

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

The Austintown Fire Department has received over $110,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The money will fund training and safety equipment, including rapid intervention rescue kits and automatic external defibrillators.

“We applied for everything that we got,” said Assistant Chief Andrew Frost, the fire department’s grant writer. “It’s a competitive grant, but it is awarded by our peers. They agree with what our safety goals are.”

The Austintown Fire Department was awarded a grant for a new fire truck last year, as well as a grant to build a new fire house.

“We have been very fortunate for the equipment grants because (Frost) is a great grant writer,” Frost said. “The narrative that accompanies the grant has to demonstrate the need, and we have done that.”

The $122,430 grant is part of a $1.9 million funding for 32 Ohio fire departments. Austintown will pay 10 percent of the grant.

The funding, which comes from the DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, was announced by U.S. Sen. George Voinovich on Feb. 5.

“Our firefighters need the proper resources to protect their communities,” Voinovich said in a press release. “These funds will help Ohio’s first responders carry out their vital missions.”