U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, today marked the 20^th anniversary of the lifesaving Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, which was created two decades ago by Rep. Pascrell’s FIRE Act. Since its inception, the AFG program has provided $9.25 billion to fire departments nationwide, including $198,500,000 in grants to New Jersey fire departments and $21,835,514 in grants to fire departments in New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District.

Rep. Pascrell was joined today by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association President Ed Donnelly, Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey Vice President of Legislative Affairs Anthony Tarantino, Elmwood Park Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Bruce, Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott, and scores of firefighters, chiefs and government officials from throughout New Jersey.

“Supporting our nation’s fire services has been my mission since I was first elected to the Congress. In October 2000, President Clinton signed my FIRE Act into law and the AFG program was born. Since then, I’m proud to say this program has awarded over $9 billion to equip and train our local fire departments. This includes $198.5 million to our state and over $21 million for equipment, vehicles, training, and safety programs at fire departments in our Ninth Congressional District,” said Rep. Pascrell.“Integral to the FIRE Act was the late Chief Lou Imparato of the Passaic Fire Department. Simply put, the FIRE Act would not have been possible without Lou’s help in conceiving the bill and bringing all the groups together to push in the same direction. To honor Chief Lou and his legacy, we must continue supporting our nation’s fire heroes at every turn with programs like AFG. America’s firefighters have our backs when we need them most. We must have theirs in return.”

Annual funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program is provided by Rep. Pascrell’s Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, which was signed into law in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. Administered by DHS’ Federal Emergency Management Agency, the AFG program provides direct support to eligible fire departments to help them meet the demanding and ever-evolving nature of their work.

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By Carl J. Haddon

The Recap

So as not to rehash all that is contained in Parts 1 and 2, allow me to simply list some of the gross challenges that we are finding (as rural fire departments) with RVs, EVs, and Escapees:

EVs (Electric Vehicles):

• Electric vehicles are becoming commonplace, and they aren’t just passenger vehicles anymore. UPS, FEDEX, Amazon, buses, trash trucks, and big rigs are also launching electric commercial fleets as we speak.
• Most fire departments are not as educated about the fire and extrication hazards associated with electric vehicles as they need to be to be successful at crashes and fires involving them.
• Most fire departments are not adequately equipped or trained to deal with electric vehicle and lithium ion battery (in thermal runaway) related fires.
• In rural settings especially, most electric passenger vehicles are charged in single-family dwelling garages, which creates many new fire exposure concerns.

RVs (Recreational Vehicles):

• RVs come in varying shapes and sizes. There are 10 times more RVs on the road today than there was in 2019.
• Many are driven or towed by inexperienced drivers. You do not need a commercial driver’s license or special license endorsement to drive or tow an RV. This is resulting in more crashes and fire department responses.
• Unlike most big rigs, RVs aren’t hazmat placarded. We have no idea what’s inside these rigs and what we’re up against when we roll up to a crash involving these vehicles. These vehicles present Class A (run-of-the-mill combustibles), Class B (flowing fuel fires), Class C (electrical fires), and Class D (combustible metal fires) fire challenges.
• Crashes and fires involving RVs can tie up fire personnel and shut down rural highways for hours upon hours.

Escapees:

• With more people being able to work remotely, many of our rural communities are being inundated with new people in numbers like we’ve not seen before. This number of folks is naturally (and sometimes not so naturally) impacting rural infrastructure (e.g., rural fire departments) that may already be stretched for volunteer members.
• Whether vacationers or transplants, escapees aren’t always accustomed to “special rural driving hazards” (agricultural equipment on the highway, Elk, deer, moose, and other big-game animals, “unique” weather conditions, etc.) that we who live and work in these areas often take for granted.
• Tourist escapees provide much-needed and -welcomed cash flow to many of the rural communities that they visit. They come to enjoy some of the same things that we enjoy about living in rural America (outdoor sports, rivers, lakes, hunting, fishing, rafting, camping, etc.). With this enjoyment comes our understanding as rural residents and firefighters that “tourists are tourists,” and if nothing more than because of the sheer increase in their numbers, our call volume is going to increase, and often, our response times are going to increas

A ground-breaking ceremony was recently held in Cuyama (CA) for a new station, reports Keyt.com. The station will house both Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies as well as firefighters.

City and fire officials were on hand to lead the ceremony.

Its predecessor, Station 27, has already been torn down. In the meantime, deputies and firefighters are sharing an old Forest Service facility.

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The San Marcos (TX) Fire Department is holding a ground-breaking ceremony on Friday, June 25 at 10 a.m. for its Station 6, reports smcorridornews.com, which will be located at 5716 S Old Bastrop Highway.

In addition to Station 6, the project also calls for the purchase of new apparatus. The $7 million bond project was approved by voters in 2017; a developer will contribute $2.5 million to the project, with the city’s capital costs totaling $4.5 million.

WestEast Design Group of San Antonio, Texas; Seidel Construction of New Braunfels, Texas; and Jacobs Engineering Group of Dallas, Texas, were selected for the project.