Congressman Pascrell’s F.I.R.E. Act Delivers $265,950 To The Nutley Fire Department

Federal grant, the second of its kind to Nutley, will help the fire department acquire a new fire engine. U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded new federal FIRE Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) funding to the Nutley Fire Department in the amount of $265,950. The grant will help the Nutley Fire Department acquire a new water-pumping fire engine to replace a 30-year-old apparatus currently in use.

“We rely on firefighters. They rely on the equipment they use. The federal government has an obligation to help community fire departments like Nutley's obtain the most reliable equipment possible," said Pascrell, who introduced the Pascrell’s Firefighter Investment Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act in March 1999. “The FIRE Act was written here in northern New Jersey with the purpose of helping communities like Nutley support their first responders. For too long, the federal government turned a deaf ear to the pressing needs of fire departments. This grant demonstrates that through the FIRE Act, we have changed that shortsighted policy.”

Nutley Deputy Fire Chief Paul Cafone said the new water-pumping truck will replace the existing truck that has been in use since 1982.

"It's a double clutch vehicle so we had some trouble teaching younger firefighters how to drive it," said Deputy Fire Chief Chief Cafone.

Deputy Chief Cafone added that professional firefighting standards dictate that vehicles be replaced every 20 years, and the existing water pumping truck was used 10 years beyond that standard. He also said that the Fire Department needed a new truck that would fit inside the Park Avenue firehouse, a smaller building that was built around the turn of the 20th Century.

Nutley Fire Capt. John Hund, who wrote the grant application, said he was shocked when Rep. Pascrell notified him that Nutley received the grant award.

"I thought we would fall between the cracks," said Capt. Hund. "I'm very happy that we were able to get the grant."

Both Deputy Chief Cafone and Capt. Hund thanked Rep. Pascrell for his advocacy. They also thanked Nutley Commissioner Alphonse Petracco, director of the Nutley Department of Public Safety, for encouraging the Fire Department to apply for the FIRE grant.

The Nutley Fire Department has about 100 firefighters, with 60 of them being volunteers.
Nutley Mayor Mauro Tucci also thanked Rep. Pascrell for his efforts in helping Nutley acquire the funding.

"The community is very grateful to the congressmen for all his efforts," said Mayor Tucci. "It's something that is greatly needed. This grant will help us replace some aged equipment to help us provide for the safety of our residents, and also reduce some of the burden on our local taxes."

This is the second FIRE Act AFG award to the Township of Nutley. In January 2010, the Nutley Fire Department was awarded $82,880 for acquiring personal protective equipment – including the fire-resistant, waterproof coats and pants – as well as a new exhaust ventilation system for the fire station at 228 Chestnut Street.

Rep. Pascrell is a nationally recognized leader in Congress on the issue of fire safety, having proudly authored the F.I.R.E. (Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement) Act, which became law in 2001. The law established the only federal program that delivers grant dollars directly to fire departments.

The program, now titled the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, is administered by the Department of Homeland Security. Now, the nation’s 32,000 career, volunteer and combination fire departments can apply for federal grants to purchase the equipment, training, and vehicles needed to serve their communities. The AFG program also funds Fire Prevention and Safety Grants, for fire awareness and prevention activities, as well as fire safety-related research.

Rep. Pascrell also conceived of the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant program which provides federal support for staffing of local fire departments.

Congressman Pascrell has also led the fight to protect these critical grant programs from the House Republicans efforts to cut federal spending. In February, 2011, an amendment authored by Rep. Pascrell restored $510 million in funding that was cut by House Republicans in the FY2011 Continuing Resolution. Another $320 million was restored by another Pascrell amendment that passed in June, 2011.

Rep. Pascrell’s AFG program started with a $100 million appropriation in fiscal year 2001. With broad bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives reauthorized the AFG program in 2009 with $1 billion from 2010 to 2014.