NEWS IN WEST SENECA FIRE DISTRICT 2

Published: February 28, 2010 – Updated: March 23, 2010

Union Awarded Assistance to Firefighters Grant Union Fire Company became the recipient of 121,028.00 in round 4 of the 2009 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The announcement made February 19, 2010, is classified under Operations and Safety, to be used towards Personal Protective Equipment for the department.
			The grant was written by Dan Frontera, a fellow West Seneca firefighter who serves as an Assistant Chief for the Reserve Fire Company, and operates Programmatic Solutions of WNY, which provides grant writing, development and no profit management solutions for a range of community based organizations.
Union Fire Chief Jeff Warner commended the work of Frontera and Past Chief Gary Mack, whom retained Programmatic Solutions to formulate the grant. The need for the new equipment existed in the fact that it replaces SCBA units that have been in service for some 15-years. Chief Warner had originally earmarked use of the grant monies for the purchase of Scott Air-Pak 75 SCBA units complete with Integrated Pak-Alert Pass Device, Heads Up Display, and Pak-Tracker Firefighter Locator, handled through a local supplier of all types of emergency equipment, Dival Safety. After further consideration it was decided to take a look at other notable SCBA Manufacturers, including MSA and its new FireHawk M7 SCBA with Integrated Pass Device, Heads Up Display, face piece cross-contamination check-valve, thermal alarm, time-remaining display, front & rear buddy lights, auto-dim HUD, large drag-carrying handles, stainless steel cylinder band with cam-lock system. Churchville Fire Equipment distributes MSA locally. Union will carefully weigh all options prior to selection; either unit will afford Union firefighters the latest technological equipment available for firefighter protection.
		As described on the Scott website: The Scott Air-Pak 75 SCBA is defining the future of SCBA technology by going beyond the standards with innovative features, advanced technologies, and optional accessories not available on any other SCBA, such as integrated carrying handles, buddy
indicator lights, a Drag Rescue Loop (DRL) for rescuing downed firefighters, an angled mechanical gauge with edge lighting, a simplified central power management system with a single battery module, and a streamlined back frame for improved hose management and user comfort, all while continuing to offer the time-tested legendary features and reliable performance you've come to know from Scott.
Scott Media Presentation: Defining the Future of the SCBA Related Accessories: Pak-Alert SE 7 Integrated PASS Device SCBA Carrying Case Dual EBSS Extended Duration Airline Pak-Tracker (FLS)
	The MSA website states: MSA’s new FireHawk M7 Air Mask represents a true technological achievement in critical personal protection. As firefighters determined the safety requirements that would be needed to meet the new NFPA 1981 and 1982–2007-edition standards, MSA’s engineering teams began designing the solutions.
The new FireHawk M7 Air Mask emerged with seven life-safety design components built on a modular Air Mask platform, developed to exceed the new NFPA 2007 requirements and provide firefighters with the highest-quality SCBA currently available. Firehawk M7 Interactive Demo View in Adobe 3d MSA Website