Dracut Fire Department Receives $17,554 Grant from Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program

DRACUT — Chief Michael Cunha is pleased to report that the Dracut Fire Department received a $17,554 grant from the Fiscal Year 2025 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant program. 

Fire departments across Massachusetts were invited to apply to the Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant program, which provides reimbursement on purchases of 135 different types of eligible equipment. Eligible items include hoses and nozzles, turnout gear, ballistic protective equipment, gear washers and dryers, thermal imaging cameras, hand tools and extrication equipment, communications resources, hazardous gas meters, and more.

In many cases, the purchase of this equipment will help departments attain compliance with Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) safety standards.

This is the fifth year that funding has been awarded through the program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The Dracut Fire Department will use the funding to purchase water and ice rescue equipment and to replace cylinders for self contained breathing apparatus. 

The water and ice rescue equipment will help the Dracut Fire Department as it prepares to deploy a new water and ice rescue team. Chief Cunha notes that the town is home to two quarries and four bodies of water, but that regional technical rescue teams can be as much as an hour away during emergencies. The Dracut Fire Department employs two nationally certified instructors in ice and water rescue, and they will help to lead the new team, which will provide rapid response to any water or ice rescues in town. 

“This Firefighter Safety Grant will help us buy equipment to launch a water and ice rescue team that will vastly improve our readiness to save lives in the event of an emergency,” said Chief Cunha. “I want to thank Rep. Colleen Garry and State Fire Marshal John Davine for their assistance with ensuring we received this grant even though its fate was in question due to the MBTA Communities Act.”