The Oakland Fire Department won a six-figure grant to pay for breathing devices for its firefighters, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District.

The town was awarded $130,096 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, which will buy 20 of the devices.

“When our firefighters across Maine rush to the scene of an emergency, they must have the tools and resources they need to get the job done and to protect their own safety,” Poliquin said in the release.

According to the release, the grants are awarded from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

The assistance program was created to give funding to fire departments and emergency service organizations so they can buy equipment, protective gear, vehicles and training.

Five Bangor-area fire departments also won a grant for training from the program.

The town of Eddington won the program’s Regional Award, through which the Eddington, Brewer, Holden, Orrington and Dedham-Lucerne fire departments will get to participate in a multi-day rapid intervention team training program. The program’s goal is to teach firefighters how to conduct rescue operations while disoriented, trapped or incapacitated within a building.


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