The Western Springs Fire Department has been awarded a $32,519 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.
According to a news release the AFG Program awards grants directly to fire departments to help enhance the health and safety of first responders and improve their ability to protect the public. FEMA awards grants on a competitive basis to applicants that best address the AFG Program’s priorities and provide the most compelling justification.
The funding will help provide Western Springs rescue spreaders (also known as the “Jaws of Life”), rescue cutters, spreading rams, and specialized vehicle stabilization tools that will allow Village firefighters to more safely and effectively extricate victims entrapped in serious motor vehicle accidents, the release said.
“We are extremely happy to be awarded this AFG grant,” Western Springs Fire Chief Mike Kelly, said in the release. “This equipment, which will be carried on our front-line apparatus, will be critical to our rescue response to vehicle accidents and entrapments. The portability of the equipment coupled with its advanced capability to handle the latest in car design and technology will allow our firefighters to remove trapped victims as quickly and safely as possible, even in the toughest of environments.”
