Wednesday, December 11, 2019

"Replacing old and damaged turnout gear is a financial challenge"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:
"Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito today announced $920,000 in grant awards to 174 Massachusetts fire departments for gear and equipment that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job.

“These grants will help local departments purchase critical gear to support firefighters as they put themselves in harm’s way to protect the Commonwealth’s communities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Helping to protect them from the physical and occupational hazards of the job is a key way we can show our appreciation for the dedicated service of our first responders.”

“Many fire departments across the Commonwealth are all too familiar with the increased risk of occupational cancers faced by fire service personnel,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “These grant awards will support many ongoing cancer prevention initiatives at the local level by reducing the amount of cancer-causing chemicals thousands of firefighters are exposed to in the coming years.”

“On a daily basis, modern firefighters face countless dangers, but we now know that occupational cancers caused by exposure to smoke and other combustion byproducts are as dangerous to them as knocking down fires and conducting rescue operations,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Thomas A. Turco III. “Fire departments across Massachusetts have made significant changes to the way they work to combat these risks in recent years, and these grant programs will help many to move their cancer prevention efforts forward.”


https://franklin.wickedlocal.com/news/20191210/fire-department-grants-geared-toward-reducing-cancer-risk

Franklin is on the list to receive $2480 from this grant
https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-920000-in-fire-department-grant-awards

This kind of gear and the cleaning equipment for it was part of the capital budget discussion on Tuesday, Dec 10. The Finance Committee will complete their discussion with the DPW next Tuesday, Dec 17 and forward the recommendation to the Town Council for action to vote on to approve all or part of the $1.7M capital currently in the discussion.

The meeting recording is available
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/12/fm-186-finance-committee-capital-budget.html

Franklin Fire Department
Franklin Fire Department


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