After grant rejections, Lower Burrell fire company secures $100,000-plus for special breathing equipment

After failed attempts to secure grant money, Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 secured $108,000 from a state insurance fund to pay for firefighters’ special breathing equipment.

The fire company recently received 18 self-contained breathing apparatus as well as portable air supplies. Firefighters wear the breathing equipment when entering building fires and other dangerous conditions.

“It’s important for our volunteers to have proper and safe equipment,” Lower Burrell Councilman Chris Fabry said. “They put their lives on the line for the residents of Lower Burrell and neighboring communities. It’s vital that they are protected in every way possible.”

But finding the money for the critical equipment was not so easy, said Mark Marmo, chief of Lower Burrell No. 3.

The company was turned down twice for state grants, Marmo said.

“Ironically, the current breathing packs are 10 years or older and were purchased through a grant,” said Marmo, who wrote that grant more than a decade ago. The lifetime expectancy for such breathing equipment is about a decade.

“The units are showing their age,” Marmo said. “We didn’t feel comfortable waiting for the next grant cycle next year due to the condition of the current units.”

The funds to pay for the new breathing equipment came from several years of saving relief funds that are distributed from the state.

The money for the new equipment is from the state auditor general’s office through an insurance fund, which is sent to 1,900 volunteer firefighter relief associations in the state.

While the No. 3 fire company can receive money annually through its relief association, it chose to use about four years worth of funding to pay for the new breathing equipment, Marmo said.

“This will put a bigger responsibility on us to fundraise,” he noted. The company has food truck rallies and other fundraisers on tap for the year.

The new equipment will be placed into service within the next week after all members are trained.