Medina FD to seek grants for equipment, as well as ladder truck, fire hall addition

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department is working with a grantwriter on federal grants to help pay for equipment, a ladder truck and an addition to the fire hall.

The Village Board in August hired G&G Municipal Consulting and Grant Writing for $7,990 to write up to five grant applications for the fire department.

G & G is working on three right now. That includes a grant for $100,422 towards a compressor/fill station and also 20 SCBA cylinders. The total cost of that equipment is $105,444. The village share would be $5,021 if Medina is successful getting the grant, Fire Chief Matt Jackson advised the Village Board on Monday.

The compressor-fill station would cost $68,486 and would allow firefighters to fill the cylinders right at the station, rather than going to the county Emergency Management Office in Albion.

Medina has 40 of the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) that are breathing-air cylinders. The Fire Department wants to replace half of those 40 bottles, with the next half to be replaced in five years. The 20 bottles cost approximately $36,958, Jackson said.

The Village Board is expected to approve the grant application at its Feb. 25 meeting. The application is die March 8.

Jackson said the village also is working with G & G to pursue assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a new ladder truck and an fire hall addition.

Medina voted on June 26 to spend $1.7 million to buy a new ladder truck from Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisc., with a delivery time expected to take 2 ½ years.

The board on Aug. 14 authorized seeking a bond for up to $5.6 million to finance the fire hall addition. The board hasn’t determined the scope of that project yet.

Another fire truck from 1990 also should be on schedule for a replacement in the near future, Jackson said.

He also would like to pursue a grant for a specialized laundry machine to clean turn-out gear and remove any carcinogens.