The $182,258 Assistance to Firefighters grant is administered by the Department of Homeland Security. The Marthasville department will pay a 5 percent match, or $9,592, to bring total funds available to $191,850. "We are blessed with anticipation," Lt. Jamie Faust said. "This is the first time in many, many years we received a grant. We are very excited. This is quite a big savings. It's a bonus to the taxpayers and to firefighters for their safety." Fire Chief Jeff Backhaus noted this is the largest grant ever received by his department. "It's a great thing," he said. "For a lot of smaller departments, this helps tremendously. It's a great opportunity for departments like ours to improve other areas with our regular income." The grant money will be used to purchase 31 self contained breathing apparatuses, which are air packs worn by firefighters when they battle smoky fires. In addition, two rapid intervention team air packs and two thermal imaging cameras will be purchased. Faust said the new equipment should arrive in the middle of February and will be replacing equipment that is at least 10 years old. Backhaus added that the department has three different styles of air packs which are in use now. The department's firefighters will have to train on the new apparatus before it is actually put in service. "When you are depending on something to breath, you want to make sure it's new and working," Faust said. "There was definitely a need to update." The Marthasville department currently only has one thermal imager, so the two new units could be stored at each of the department's other two stations located at Dutzow and Treloar, Faust noted. "It will definitely aid in an outdoor search and rescue," he said about the new thermal imagers. "They come in real handy." The grant committee consisted of Brian Kopp, Marvin Leesman, Ken Eddens, Backhaus and Faust. Backhaus said the department had applied for similar grants in the past, didn't make the final cut until now. "The money that we save can now be used to update other equipment in the future," he said. 8