Richmondville Fire Department Receives 148K Federal Grant

The Richmondville Volunteer Fire Department has received a $148,000 federal grant to purchase turnout gear. Photo Chris English.

By Chris English

RICHMONDVILLE — The Richmondville Volunteer Fire Department has received a $148,000 Assistance to Firefighters grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Town of Richmondville Councilman Eric Haslun _ also one of the assistant chiefs at the fire department _ informed Richmondville Village board members of the award at a special early morning village meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

And while the fire department has received the grant, FEMA requires proof of various non-discrimination policies before the award is totally finalized, Haslun said. After a brief discussion of those issues during the first part of the Aug. 20 meeting, Haslun had to depart because of another commitment. Village Mayor Carl Warner Jr., Trustees Garry Davis and Robert Hyatt, and Clerk-Treasurer Hope Bayes then spent the rest of the meeting _ more than an hour _ going through village documents to make sure it had what it took to satisfy FEMA.

They explained that the fire department doesn't need to have policies of its own so long as the village has them. The firehouse is located in the village, right across Main Street from the village municipal building. By the end of the Aug. 20 meeting, board members had concluded the village has the necessary policies to satisfy FEMA requirements for the grant.

"Civil Rights is a very broad term," said Davis before he and the others started going through the documents. "What specifically are they asking for?"

After much discussion and work going through FEMA documents that accompanied the grant and also village documents, the board members and Bayes believed they knew the answer to that question and had the necessary paperwork to meet the FEMA requirements.

The Richmondville Fire Department's fire district includes the village and also the Towns of Richmondville and Seward. It was unclear at the Aug. 20 village meeting whether the two towns also had to meet the non-discrimination policy requirements and, if so, whether they had. Haslun and Warner could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

Before he left the meeting, Haslun said the grant would be used to purchase turnout gear, which includes hats, goggles, pants, boots, and other parts of a firefighter's uniform.