The Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company has received word that its US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) competitive grant application has been approved, allowing the organization to acquire a range a firefighting equipment.

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead said October 9 that FEMA will cover 95 percent of the costs of the equipment acquisition, with the fire company covering the remaining five percent. The overall spending plan is $163,320, of which FEMA will cover $155,543.

The four other local volunteer fire companies — Hook & Ladder, Dodgingtown, Hawleyville, and Botsford — have received FEMA grant approvals in the past. They did not receive money in the current round of grant funding. Grant applications will soon be due for funds to be awarded in 2019.

Chief Halstead said that the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grants will be used by Sandy Hook to buy 16 portable two-way fire radios, 12 firefighter air packs, one thermal imaging camera, and one device known as a “fit tester.” A fit tester tests how well the face mask for an air pack fits a firefighter’s face, ensuring that there is a good seal.

The radios, air packs, and thermal imaging camera will be gear that replaces existing older equipment, the fire chief said. The fit tester is a new piece of gear for the fire company that will allow it to conduct its own face mask testing, rather that have an outside firm do such work, he added.

The rugged portable radios, whose price per unit varies from $2,800 to $3,500, are a key piece of equipment that allow firefighters to easily talk to one another at emergencies. The air packs, which cost about $7,000 per unit, allow firefighters to breath fresh air amid the smoky conditions of a fire. A thermal imaging camera, which costs more than $9,000, uses infrared technology to help firefighters locate fires that they cannot see, such as fires that are burning within the walls of a structure.

Chief Halstead said he hopes that all of the equipment ordered under the grant program is on hand within three months.

The Assistance to Firefighters grants are distributed to volunteer fire companies, paid fire companies, and those fire companies that combine volunteers and paid members, the fire chief said.