Trenton Fire Department Hopes FEMA Will Help Get New Truck

Trenton City Council has approved the notion and the paper work is in progress for the Trenton Fire Department to submit an application to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for a $400,000 equipment grant to purchase a new fire truck that also functions as an ambulance.

FEMA is a government agency that became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2003 and it is designed to support financially strapped emergency workers and citizens who cope with disasters or potential disasters. They also have a firefighters grant program that helps struggling fire departments nationwide.

The TFD, which has suffered from city cutbacks over the last couple of years, is in need of a new fire engine according to Fire Chief Bruce Vick and he said that FEMA is the only way the city will be able to afford one.

Each city that recieves a grant is required to pay five percent of the overall grant back to the government. In this case, a $400,000 grant will cost Trenton $20,000.

With the U.S. economy struggling, naturally, Trenton is not the only city contacting Uncle Sam for a little help.

"Getting your requested money is really not a for sure thing at all," Vick said. "They (FEMA) read everything that is sent to them and then widdle everything down to a second cut. Then a third cut. Then they weigh out who needs it most out of who's left."

While Vick compared receiving a FEMA grant to winning a lottery board, he is optimistic because the fire department received an equipment grant just two years ago in 2009 for $750,000 to purchase .

"There's ways to bring the price down too," Vick said. "You can offer trades of different things and see if you can bargain with them for a lower price."

Vick cited Trenton's grant from 2009 as an example of working the price down. The $750,000 grant was going to cost the city five percent of that, a total of $32,000. Vick said that the TFD offered FEMA their oldest fire engine in exchange for a reduced rate. FEMA obliged and Trenton only had to pay $17,000.

According to the FEMA website, in 2009, the agency received a total of 19,791 requests from U.S. cities for financial help. In 2010, FEMA awarded roughly 2,714 of those requests.

The fire department will formally submit their application for the assistance to firefighters equipment grant on May 1, the opening day for applicants.