Green Island Fire Department gets over $100K in federal money

A village fire department is receiving over $100,00 from the federal government to help purchase personal protective equipment for its firefighters.

The Green Island Fire Department has been awarded $103,574 in assistance from the Federal Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security to buy the equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatus, to replace older equipment and new training equipment and material.

 The total project costs $109,025, 95 percent of which is being covered by federal money. The village will shoulder the rest of the cost, which amounts to $5,451.

Sen. Charles Schumer made the announcement Monday. "I was one of the original group of senators who created this grant program, and we did so precisely for communities like Green Island, who have the need for state-of-the-art fire protection but also have tight municipal budgets that make such expensive purchases difficult," he said in a statement. "We can never thank our firefighters enough for their heroic efforts, but we can guarantee them the training, equipment and resources they need to do their job well."

_{Article Credit - LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany Times Union}