The Somerville Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a grant totaling $470,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the department plans to use for a new tanker, department Treasurer Jessica Peaslee told the Somerville Select Board at a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
The new tanker will be the first brand-new truck in the Somerville Volunteer Fire Department’s history, according to Capt. Derek Brilyea.
“I was so surprised, I still didn’t believe it when they told me,” said Somerville Fire Chief Michael Dostie.
According to Dostie, the department has been seeking a grant like this for more than two decades with little success.
The new tanker will strengthen Somerville’s aging fleet of firefighting vehicles, Dostie said.
The truck it is intended to replace was built in 1977.
“It’s time to replace that,” he said.
The new truck joins another recently purchased engine – a 1994 Spartan with less than 20,000 miles, purchased from a department in Middleport, N.Y. and put into service this summer – that, though not exactly new, is new to Somerville and new compared to the rest of the fleet.
“For us, that’s going to be a huge asset,” Dostie said.
The recent push to renew Somerville’s equipment is a reaction to proposed changes to federal regulations governing emergency responders, including volunteer fire departments like Somerville’s. The changes, proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, would tighten requirements on fire departments, requiring additional training and raising the bar regarding the age and condition of equipment.
Under the proposed rule, not one of the Somerville Volunteer Fire Department’s four vehicles – three engines and one tanker – would be acceptable, Brilyea said. This is despite the fact that, according to Dostie, they have been only lightly used because of the low call volume in Somerville.
“Every truck we had was over 30 years old. They didn’t have very high mileage and they’re in perfect shape, but with the new laws they’re trying to pass, they are saying that those will not count anymore and you have to get a newer truck,” Dostie said.
Anticipating the rule changes, the department has replaced all the hoses on their trucks and purchased new turnout gear.
“That was a big expense, and we did that all on our own,” Dostie said. “Our department is a small department and everything we get we have to plan for ahead of time. We’re just barely getting by with the budget we have.”
This makes the grant particularly exciting, Dostie said.
The department will receive $447,619.04 in federal funding as part of the grant package, Peaslee said. The town of Somerville, drawing from the fire department reserve fund, will provide $22,380.96 as a 5% match for the package.
The Somerville Select Board unanimously agreed to approve the withdrawal from the fire department reserve fund, which according to town Treasurer Sandra Devaney contained about $46,000.
“Thank you, thank you,” said Somerville Select Board Chair Donald Witmer-Kean. “…Finally, the ship came in.”
The next meeting of the Somerville Select Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the town office. For more information, go to somervillemaine.org or call 549-3828.
