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Continued: The process of obtaining a grant under this program is not an easy task. This is not a “given” source of funding. Once all the statistics are entered via an on-line grant module, a narrative of the project must be written. This narrative is reviewed by our peers for content, financial need and justification. The Department of Homeland Security funds 90% of the requested project costs with the remaining 10% to made up by the recipient. The moneys that the citizens of Upper Dublin Township have donated to us during our annual fund drive are being used to fund our share. At the end of 2005, the Fort Washington Fire Company No 1 was awarded an AFG for an Engine Room Exhaust System. The purpose of this system is to protect our station personnel and the general public (who visit our stations on a regular basis) from the cancer causing effects of vehicle exhaust emissions. The system is designed to specifically meet the needs of emergency response vehicles, is fully automatic, and requires no system detachments so as not to interfere with firefighter’s response time. In addition, this system is completely portable so that if a new station is ever built, we can move the system to the new building quickly and easily. This system has low maintenance requirements, which can be handled by fire company personnel.
Installer finishing up the hanging of one of the air cleaners in the Engine Room Ceiling Our apparatus generate these emissions during startup, through vehicle backwash when leaving the bays, and then again when returning to station following a call. This has resulted in our personnel being enveloped in this exhaust both before and then again after the calls. During the winter months, the bay doors are closed quickly upon returning from a call so as to maintain the heat in the building. This only goes to trap the exhaust for longer periods of time in our stations, which in turn exposes our members for a longer period of time to the poisons in the air. In addition, the trucks also generate a lot of these carcinogens while we perform normal maintenance during the colder months or during inclement weather when the vehicles need to be worked on in an enclosed area. Thanks to this grant, we have now been able to install an Airmation Engine Room Vehicle Exhaust System in both of our stations capable of filtering the air 6 times in one hour. Because of this grant we can now comply with NFPA 1500‑2002 Edition Standard 9.1.6 on facility safety regarding exhaust emissions and with the Clean Air Act of 1990. We expect the system to provide, not only protection from exhaust emissions but also provide long-term financial savings. These savings will accrue through the reduction of insurance premiums, reduced building maintenance and health liabilities, as well as lower energy bills by enabling the bay door to be closed while an engine is running. Because of this grant, we can now provide a safer environment for our members during a period of their service when they should not be subjected to an unsafe or unhealthy environment. On November 15, 2006 the Engine Room Exhaust System from Airmation was installed at both the Summit Ave and the Burn Brea Stations. ------------------------- Bill Gift is a firefighter, company photographer, member of the FWFC Board of Directors and committee head of the Accreditation and Grant Committees as well as serving on the Policy and Information Systems committees.
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