Millions of dollars soon will be in the coffers of local fire departments, rescue and ambulance services to help offset the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on fundraising.

About 90 Westmoreland County fire departments are getting more than $2 million. Fourteen EMS agencies in the county are set to receive about $210,000 total.

For Adamsburg Fire Chief Don Thoma, the news was a lifesaver. Fire officials have been scrimping for the last few months as the pandemic forced them to cancel fish fry fundraisers and close their club. The nearly $24,000 the department is set to receive is much more than Thoma expected.

“My guys will be excited,” he said. “We’ve been pinching pennies.”

Rescue 14 EMS in Adamsburg will get $15,000.

The Office of State Fire Commissioner on Thursday announced the recipients of the $50 million grant funding through the federal CARES Act. Fire and rescue companies across the state got a total of $44 million, with $6 million directed to EMS agencies.

The money must be used for operational and equipment expenses such as utilities, insurance, personal protective equipment (PPE) and lost revenue because of pandemic restrictions.

Fire departments struggled financially for months as many fundraisers either were canceled or switched to online because of limits on gatherings meant to slow the spread of the virus. That has eaten away at budgets, leaving departments without tens of thousands of dollars in fundraising revenue needed to keep up with regular monthly expenses.

Sutersville Fire Department plans to put their $24,500 allocation toward insurance costs and a rescue truck payment, which are two big expenses, said assistant chief Michael Manley. The $23,000 loan payment was due in July, but firefighters were successful in getting their lender to split it in half, buying more time to secure the funds, he said.

New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said the extra boost will allow firefighters to do maintenance on their apparatus, pay utilities and resupply their PPE. The department’s five stations have seen increased calls since mid-March and, by the end of the month, he expects to surpass the number of calls they had in all of 2019.

“It’s going to be extremely helpful for the department because all of our department fundraisers for this year were basically kiboshed,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s how we make our money — through fundraising. We don’t know how successful things could have been.”

The New Kensington companies will get nearly $115,000. The ambulance service is set to receive $15,000.

In Allegheny County, about 160 fire departments will get $3.7 million, with $472,000 going to 29 EMS agencies.

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