UPDATED: LBFD Receives $54K Federal Grant for Equipment

The Long Beach Fire Department this week received $54,000 in federal funding to purchase new emergency care equipment for ambulances.

The LBFD applied for the funds last year and the money was allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, according to the offices of Congressman Peter King and U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Long Beach City Council President Fran Adelson and LBFD Commissioner Scott Kemins said the fire department will use the funds exclusively to purchase three new Lifepak 15s that included heart monitors and defibrillators for three advanced ambulances that are manned by both career and volunteer firefighters.

"In difficult financial times, this grant is a tremendous help,” Adelson said in a statement. “The grant enables us to obtain new essential life-saving equipment without draining the city's finances.”

Kemins said the equipment will be used in ambulances to help heart attack victims. “These will be state of the art, top of the line equipment, which is greatly needed,” he added.

The LBFD applied for the grant in March 2011, Adelson said. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, established by FEMA within the Department of Homeland Security, is part of an effort to increase the nation’s emergency response preparation, and provides federal funding to first responder organizations for the acquisition of personal protective equipment, firefighting vehicles, emergency response equipment and emergency response trainings, according to a statement released jointly by King, Schumer and Gillibrand.

“I understand how critical this funding is for our firefighters,” Representative Peter King, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and the Congressional Fire Services Caucus said in a statement. “These funds will ensure that the Long Beach Fire Department has the necessary equipment to keep them safe and protect Long Beach.”

Bill Piazza, president  of International Association of Firefighters Local 287, worked on the application for the grant in a competitive program that includes departments around the country.  

“There is a great level of personal satisfaction when you invest time and effort to set out and accomplish a goal,” said Piazza about what he called a time-consuming process. “I am very happy that I was able to make a contribution toward securing these funds for the department.”   

* This story was updated at 5:17 on 2.19.12.