Tim Murphy Presents South Fayette & Oak Ridge Firefighters with FEMA Check for SCBA

Left To Right: South Fayette VFD Engineer Tom Thomas, Captain Ted Wolford, FF Mike Katruska, FF Tina Wolford, FF Pat Walker, FF Sarah Walker, Lieutenant Jarett Frank, Life Member Ted Mitchell, Lieutenant Mark Mitchell, Deputy Chief Eric Lazzini, Congressman Tim Murphy, Assistant Chief Charles Lazzini, Chief Joe Janocha, Oak Ridge VFD Chief Bill Supan, Assistant Chief John Olszewski, Lieutenant Kevin Sperring, FF Megan Sperring, FF Teri Ann Webster Martineck, FF Riley Supan, and FF BJ Supan.

Tuesday August 1st, 2017 Congressman Tim Murphy presented South Fayette & Oak Ridge Volunteer Firefighters with a check totaling $186,667.00. This funding will come from Homeland Security FEMA Assistance firefighters grant program to replace current failing and outdated Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. This grant also is going to provide each department with one Rapid Intervention Pack. Members from both departments worked on the application in the final quarter of 2016. This was the third year for applying for the departments. South Fayette Volunteer Fire Department is the host of the regional grant. On July 14, 2017 South Fayette Fire department received notice that the grant was awarded.

Members will begin the next step in talking to manufactures of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and Rapid Intervention Packs (RIT Pack) and eventually be placing the order for the equipment. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus are the air tanks with masks that firefighters wear in hazardous atmospheres such as smoke or carbon monoxide. The Rapid Intervention Packs are essentially an SCBA inside of a bag that can be deployed by firefighters designated as the Rapid Intervention Crew. In a situation that a Firefighter or Multiple firefighters would become trapped or lost and air supply would get low. The rapid intervention pack would be used to provide the downed firefighter with air. SCBA cost between $6,000 to $7,000 thousand dollars each and a RIT pack cost around $3500. When the new equipment arrives both both fire departments will begin training and placing the equipment into service.

Congressman Tim Murphy (center) holds check with South Fayette VFD Captain Ted Wolford (left) and Oak Ridge Firefighter BJ Supan (right). Captain Wolford and Firefighter Supan worked together to write the grant proposal to FEMA.