Ferguson: Hunterdon County First Responders Receives $41,800 Grant

1/23/07

Congressman Mike Ferguson announced that the High Bridge Emergency Squad in Hunterdon County received a $41,800 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase new safety equipment, the Courier-News reported.

The squad will use the funding to upgrade its building on Route 513 in High Bridge to ensure it's free from toxic emissions when emergency vehicles are started indoors, the Hunterdon County Democrat reported.

Rick Hannigan, the squad's president, said officials are currently forced to leave the doors on the five-vehicle bay open for long periods to ensure tail-pipe emission are not trapped in the building, the newspaper reported. As a result, fumes are dispersed into the surrounding community.

Congressman Ferguson said the security grant will be used to purchase an exhaust ventilation system that will protect the squad's 35-member team and the neighboring environment, the Hunterdon Review reported.

"You're talking about a lot of fumes that can be built up over time and have significant impact on the health of folks that are making a sacrifice to save other people," Congressman Ferguson told the Hunterdon County Democrat. "This is going to be a very important upgrade for the building, and it's critically important for our first responders in a post-9/11 world to give them the ability to do their jobs."

The squad responds to 750 calls annually, covering an area that is home to about 6,500 residents in the borough and parts of several nearby communities, including Clinton Township, the newspaper reported.

The squad's building first opened in 2000, and the squad recently added a new ambulance and emergency response vehicle - highlighting the need to provide for a vehicle exhaust ventilation system.

"These important funds will not only help protect our first responders at the station from dangerous exhaust, but it will allow us to protect members of the public visiting the station, too," Hannigan told the Hunterdon Review.

In the 7th District, which includes portions of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, first responders have received nearly $5.5 million in federal security funds since Sept. 11, 2001. These funds have been used for everything from new equipment to training for an attack involving chemical or nuclear weapons.

In Hunterdon County, other first-responder grants include:

• $59,422 for the Annandale Hose Fire Company in Clinton Township;
• $224,041 for the Califon Fire Company;
• $6,256 for the Califon First Aid Squad;
• $7,946 for the Clinton Township Division of Fire;
• $98,725 for the Flemington Fire Department;
• $43,843 for the Hampton Fire Company;
• $41,800 for the High Bridge Emergency Squad;
• $92,056 for the Holland Township Fire Company;
• $362,828 for the Lebanon Township Volunteer Fire Department;
• $304,519 for the Milford Fire Company;
• $76,998 for the Oldwick Fire Company;
• $133,175 for the Pattenburg Volunteer Fire Company;
• $107,705 for the Quakertown Fire Company serving Alexandria and Union townships;
• $58,823 for the Raritan Township Fire Company;
• $21,492 for the Readington Volunteer Fire Company; and
• $96,556 for the Three Bridges Volunteer Fire Company.

Each year, Congressman Ferguson invites fire chiefs and local elected officials to workshops to discuss the availability of federal security funding, and he assists local officials in applying for the funds.