By AMBER SOUTH
@ShipNewsGirl
Shippensburg Area Emergency Medical Services will use a $143,244 grant to keep its members safer and improve communications.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Shippensburg Area EMS an Assistance to Firefighters Grant.
A news release announcing the grant Thursday incorrectly identified Shippensburg Fire Department as the recipient.
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The grant is two-fold. Part will go toward the purchase of turn-out gear, which is equipment that protects EMS personnel working in the field, said EMS spokesperson Heather Franzoni. For example, suits protect the wearer from being cut on glass or other material on the scene of a car accident, she said. Vests are reflective.
Turn-out gear is a requirement of Shippensburg Area EMS’s contract for crew to respond to incidents on nearby areas of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The grant will allow the department to buy 58 turn-out suits, which are about $1,000 a piece, said Director of Operations Shawn Hartsock.
The second part of the grant will cover the cost of eight mobile radios that will be lodged in ambulances and eight portable radios that crew members can carry around, Franzoni said.
Mobile radios cost $6,000 or more, and portable radios cost $4,000 or more, Hartsock said.
Learning that Shippensburg Area EMS received the grant was “shocking,” Franzoni said. It will help the department gain momentum on projects it decreased focus on during the planning, construction and adjustment to the Shippensburg Emergency Medical Services Building, which was completed last summer.
“We finally got a new station and now we’re trying to fix up things that we’ve been behind in,” she said.
The grant would not be with Shippensburg Area EMS if it were not for the lawmakers who supported the department in getting the grant, Hartsock and Franzoni said. The grant application required securing letters of recommendation from them.
“We want to thank everybody that gave us the recommendations,” Franzoni said.
New Cumberland Fire Department, Cumberland County, received $116,000 .
“Pennsylvania’s firefighters endure risk and sacrifice every day to keep their community safe,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in the news release. “This money will help provide Cumberland County’s firefighters with the resources they need to ensure their safety and the safety of those they serve.”
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Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4771.
