By KENNEDY GRIFFIN

(Greenfield, MA) The Greenfield Fire Department has been awarded a $70,000 FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, grant. The grant is for a breathing apparatus air filling station. This will be replacing 30 year-old equipment that is no longer in good working order. The new air filling station will go into the new fire station on Main Street by Coombs Avenue.

Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan says, “The new filling station will allow us to refill three air packs at a time, rather than the current two, and include enhanced filtration and radio frequency identification tracking of bottle fills, as required by the National Fire Protection Association…We thank FEMA for making this needed investment in the safety of our firefighters.”

Construction is expected to break ground on the new fire station this fall and based on the current timeline, will be ready for the fire department to move into by the end of next year.