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Mammoth, AZ – Pinal Rural Fire Rescue is proud to announce they are the recipient of a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) of $114,492 for personal protective equipment, a thermal imaging camera and extrication rescue equipment.
After many months of waiting, PRFR was advised today that their application for a FEMA AFG grant is approved. These are highly competitive national level grants, so PRFR feels honored to be one of a select few hundred departments that will receive a grant this year.
As a new department, this will bring us a long way toward getting the kind of equipment we need to better serve our 911 area.
The funds are to purchase twelve (12) state of the art self-contained breathing apparatus that have lightweight carbon fiber tanks, which reduces the burden of additional weight on firefighters as compared to the older style steel tanks. These SCBAs are rated for CBRNE, which means they can be used in highly dangerous and unpredictable emergency conditions.
They also have a “heads-up display” in the mask so firefighters can keep track of the air they have used, as well as an integrated PASS device which rings a very loud alarm when a firefighter goes down to help other firefighters to find him quickly.
PRFR will also be purchasing a thermal imaging camera to detect hotspots during initial fire attack or during overhaul after a fire to ensure that the fire is completely out. These cameras are also used to find people trapped in a fire during the initial search as well as to search for firefighters should they go down during a fire.
Thermal imaging cameras also help to look for victims in the dark that are ejected from a vehicle in a crash, or to find people during search and rescue.
The grant funds will also purchase state of the art extrication equipment that is able to cut even the newest exotic metal alloys manufactured in the newer cars built today.
These new alloys make your cars safer, but create challenges to rescuers when performing rescue at a motor vehicle accident, which can cause delays getting a victim out utilizing older extrication equipment.
All this means that Pinal Rural Fire Rescue will now be able protect its subscribers and visitors exponentially better in our 911-service area, to better protect our firefighters, and speed up the time it takes to get someone out of a motor vehicle involved in an accident.
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