For Immediate Release
February 4, 2005
Contact: Douglas Moore
(202) 225-6531
404-433-5561 - cell

Congressman Jim Marshall Announces Federal Grant to Assist Summertown's Fire Department

(Macon, GA) – Congressman Jim Marshall announced that Emanuel County’s Summertown Volunteer Fire Department will receive a federal grant to assist the fire department’s operations and safety.

“I am pleased that the fire department will receive this grant. This will help our firefighters do their jobs more quickly, more efficiently, and much more safely,” said Marshall.

The grant, which totals just over $41,000, will purchase equipment and supplies, according to Harold Bridges, Summertown’s assistant fire chief. The department will be able to purchase eight new Air Pack units, three complete sets of turn-out gear and a variety of medical supplies and equipment.

Much of the volunteer fire department’s turn-out gear was purchased in 1991 and was out of compliance with current regulations. The new turn-out gear, along with the turn-out gear purchased with a federal grant last year, provides the department with a much needed upgrade in its protective gear.

The same went for the department’s Air Packs, or the breathing apparatus firefighters where when fighting interior structure fires. “Our old ones were bought back between 1988 and 1992 … they were heavy old ones,” Bridges said. “This will outfit the firefighters who go into the interior of a burning structure.”