The Belmar Fire Department is to receive a federal grant totalling $223,571.42 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program.

The AFG grant program supports fire departments with funds to help purchase needed equipment that would improve an applicant’s ability to protect the health and safety of the public. The grant will be administered by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Belmar Fire Department is an all-volunteer department which delivers primary fire protection and rescue services to Belmar’s 7,600 permanent residents—a figure that can grow to over 50,000 seasonal residents over the summer.  It has approximately 40 members who make up the Union Fire Company, Goodwill Hose Company and Volunteer Hook and Ladder Fire Company.

Congressman Chris Smith announced the award and said: “The volunteer firefighters of the Belmar Fire Department put their lives on the line every day to protect people and property in the borough and  in neighbouring towns when fires and other emergencies arise.”

Smith continued: “The self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to be purchased with these funds is absolutely critical to enabling firefighters to enter burning buildings and still be able to breathe.  With the federal support, the town can properly protect its fire crews and continue providing quick and effective emergency response services to those in harm’s way.”

He concluded:  “A special thanks to Mayor Mark Walsifer and Fire Marshal Ryan Dullea for their great work on the application, including a risk assessment, to show the need to prioritize this life-sustaining SCBA.”