Sand Mountain Reporter

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt said Pleasant Grove Volunteer Fire Department and Guntersville Fire and Rescue were awarded more than $116,000 in federal grant funding.

Pleasant Grove was awarded $39,587 and Guntersville $76,500. Pleasant Grove VFD is located at 7275 Section Line Road just west of Albertville.

“Our local fire emergency personnel do an outstanding job of protecting the health and safety of the public,” said Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville serving Alabama’s 4th Congressional District. “This funding helps our fire departments provide the best service possible to everyone, and it lets our departments provide the best conditions for firefighter safety.”

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant is awarded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. Since 2001, the grant has reportedly pumped about $4 billion in funding to first-responder organizations for equipment and training needs.

“This particular grant is for equipment,” said Guntersville Fire Chief Tracy Battles. “It was submitted last April, along with grants for a new fire station and a new fire truck. We did not get a fire station grant, and I seriously doubt that we will get a fire truck grant; however, we are in the running still.”

Battles said the equipment requested via the grant includes eight self-contained breathing apparatus with spare bottles, which are the air packs firefighters wear when they enter hazardous areas.

Other equipment includes two thermal imager cameras.

“These are the hand-held infrared devices we use to search for people inside of a burning structure,” Battles said. “They can also be used to locate the warm body of a person lost in the woods or floating on the water.”

The grant includes funding for a generator as well.

“This will be a fixed-site generator and will be installed at Fire Station No. 2 along with appropriate hardware/wiring,” Battles said. “When the station was built in 1996, it was wired for a generator and a manual transfer switch was installed; however, the generator was cut due to cost overruns.

“During extended power outages or icy weather, we have closed this station and moved personnel and equipment to Station No. 1 for operations. This will allow us to man and operate this facility around the clock as all public safety facilities should be.”

Station No. 2 is located at 12901 U.S. 431 S.

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Publisher: Ben Shurett

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