Firefighters in Whitewater to get radios, air packs

The Whitewater Fire Department will be able to buy new equipment thanks to a federal grant of $87,930 from the Department of Homeland Security and a $6,500 grant from state emergency management sources.

Whitewater fire chief Garry Moore said the federal money will be used to buy 14 new self-contained air packs with two bottles for each unit and a compressor to fill the bottles.

With the state money, the fire department will replace some hand-held radios.

Whitewater is a tax-supported fire department with 17 volunteer firefighters. The new air packs will be a welcome addition to the department, which has been using air packs donated by other fire departments that have upgraded.

"Some of our air packs are 20 years old," Moore said. "A couple of them are marked 'for training purposes only.' We've been lucky we have not had a breakdown."

The federal grant is a 90/10 match; Whitewater will contribute $9,769 of its own money to the total grant. Moore said the district has some money in reserve and, if necessary, the fire department will postpone the purchase of some tools and vehicle upgrades until next year.

Still, Moore said he is "more than tickled. This will be great."