First respondersSC fire departments awarded $5.5 million DHS grant

Published 23 February 2011

Thirty-six South Carolina fire departments had been awarded DHS grants totaling $5.5 million to pay for new programs and equipment; the funds will be spent on 200 vehicle radios, 200 walkie-talkies, and 700 pagers for 36 fire departments in Spartanburg County

Thirty-six South Carolina fire departments had been awarded DHS grants totaling $5.5 million to pay for new programs and equipment. The Spartanburg Public Safety Department received $809,752, the largest grant ever awarded to the County.

The Assistance to Firefighters grant program awards one-year grants to local fire departments. The program aids departments by providing tools and resources necessary to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel.

“Firefighters and emergency service personnel dedicate themselves to protecting the health and safety of South Carolinians,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said in a news release. “These grants will help our local fire departments and rescue squads by providing them the means to obtain the best equipment and training available.”

The funds will be spent on 200 vehicle radios, 200 walkie-talkies, and 700 pagers for 36 fire departments in Spartanburg County. In accordance with an FCC mandate due 1 January 2013, the new equipment will upgrade communication systems to narrow-band transmission capability.

Marion Blackwell, fire chief of the public safety department said that the new radio equipment is actually one third of what will be needed for the changeover, although some departments have already fulfilled their upgrade. “This grant will benefit all citizens of the county,” Blackwell said. “It’s not often you get this large of a grant.”

Other grant recipients include Boiling Springs Fire Department, which was awarded $93,480; Westview-Fairforest Fire District, $45,980; and Wellford Rescue 21, $19,000.

According to a news release fro Graham’s office, these departments may use the funds for training, wellness and fitness programs, buying firefighting or personal protective equipment and modifications to fire stations and facilities.