FARMINGTON — Selectmen approved acceptance Tuesday of a $13,500 Homeland Security grant to buy a rescue strut kit for Farmington Fire Rescue department.
The equipment is used to stabilize larger, heavy-duty vehicles, such as buses or tractor-trailers, during a rescue extrication, Capt. Tim D. Hardy said.
The department has one rescue strut kit it uses for lighter vehicles, but the new equipment will be able to lift heavy vehicles up to 10 tons and be used for shoring up a collapsed building or trench, Hardy said.
None of the equipment has been available for response in the local area, Hardy said. With all the large truck traffic, buses and forest and construction vehicles traveling through the area, Hardy explored funding sources.
The new equipment will be housed on the department’s rescue unit, which responds throughout the county and region, according to Hardy. Training to use the equipment is included in the purchase price.
The department is buying the equipment from Harrison Shrader Enterprises, of Lewiston.
The department needs to buy the equipment first in order to be reimbursed fully through the grant, Fire Chief Terry Bell said.
Selectmen authorized using the amount from the department’s equipment reserve account, which will be reimbursed when the grant funding is provided.
In other business, police Chief Jack Peck sought approval to apply and receive grants from the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety.
Peck was informed recently that the department was given approval for the grant money during 2018 if the department applies. The money is to be used on specific details.
Recognizing the need to curtail distracted driving, the amount available to the department was raised to $14,309.07, he said.
An impaired-driving grant will provide $4,655.63, while seat-belt enforcement, or the “click it or ticket” program, will receive $4,254.24 and speed enforcement will get $4,110.33.
Selectmen also approved an ongoing $1,000 grant for 2018 to the Police Department to use on underage-drinking enforcement.
The grant is provided by the Healthy Community Coalition through a Drug Free Communities Grant.
The money will be used for overtime to allow officers to do those details, Peck said.
Selectmen agreed to hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday for their first review of the 2018 departmental budget requests.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.