FAIRFIELD — Fairfield-Benton Emergency Services will use a $690,000 federal grant to buy a combination fire engine-ladder truck for the department.

The award, which is believed to be the largest grant by far ever awarded to the town, was announced Wednesday in a joint news release from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District.

The $690,477 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

Town Manager Josh Reny on Wednesday said the money will be used to buy a quint, a vehicle that performs the services of a fire engine and a ladder truck.

Towns of Fairfield’s size, such as Winslow and Skowhegan, typically have an apparatus such as a quint, but the Fairfield-Benton department doesn’t, Reny said.

“We’ve been relying on our neighbors whenever that piece of equipment is needed,” Reny said. The department might need to modify one of the bay doors of its fire station in order to fit the quint, he said.

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The Denmark Fire Department, in western Maine, will receive $28,786 as part of the grant, according to the release.

“The daily sacrifices Maine firefighters make to protect our neighbors and communities are invaluable,” the senators and congressman said in the written statement. “This grant will help ensure the safety of our brave Denmark and Fairfield-Benton firefighters as they continue to serve their communities.”

Fairfield may have to provide a 5 percent match to the grant, Reny said. In hard dollars, the match would be more than $35,500, but Reny said the resources that are put into modifying the station doors might qualify as a grant match.

The FEMA assistance to firefighters grant was created to help fire departments and emergency medical organizations to buy equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources, according to the statement.


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