Holbrook FD Gets 600K Federal Grant

The Holbrook Fire District is soon to receive a $600,000 federal grant  as part of the FY 2012 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.

The announcement was made on Congressman Tim Bishop's website. The effort to get the funds to Holbrook was also undertaken by Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Peter King. 

The Holbrook FD will use the grant money to help pay for equipment upgrades, specifically the purchase of two new Base Stations, a much needed improvement to firefighters' ability to communicate with one another during a call. The new Base Stations will satisfy new FCC requirements for firefighters to migrate to narrow band channels during an emergency. 

The Holbrook Fire District covers an area of over 11.4 square miles with a population of over 27, 000 residents living not only in the Sachem communities of Holbrook and Holtsville, but also Blue Point, Bayport, Sayville and Bohemia. 

The District also encompasses Long Island MacArthur Airport and the Ronkonkoma LIRR station, as well as the Northville Petroleum “Holtsville Terminal.”

Bishop, Gillibrand, King and Schumer all lobbied FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of the Holbrook district to secure the grant money, according to a release from Bishop's office. Homeland Security administers the grant money on a competitive basis according to which fire districts are in the greatest financial need and how closely the district's needs align with the purpose of the AFG program.

“This critical funding will afford us the ability to meet the ever changing communication environment that our first responders are up against,” Joel Vetter,  commissioner of the Holbrook Fire District said in a statement. “As seen in the recent disasters, the key to minimizing negative outcomes is capacity building within our community.”