By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



The Warrior Fire Department will soon be able to purchase needed equipment through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant.

The Assistance to Firefighters grant of $173,0128 will be used to purchase safety gear like self-contained breathing apparatus, spare air tanks, new turnout gear and a thermal imaging camera.

Under the terms of the grant, the City of Warrior will have to contribute an additional 5 percent.

“We hired a grant writer and applied for several different grants,” said Warrior Fire Chief Clay Neely. “This is a big asset for a small-budgeted department.”

The Warrior Fire Department is the only county department with paid firefighters, north of Gardendale. The department has a paid staff of seven and 23 volunteers. Neely said the department runs more than 900 calls a year.

Neely said the thermal imaging camera will be one of the biggest assets for the department. The cameras rely on radiation emitted by an object, enabling the camera’s operator to see variations in temperature. Warm objects stand out against cooler backgrounds and humans and warm-blooded animals become easily visible against the environment, day or night.

Neely said the camera will be useful in pointing out hot spots in a structure fire, but can also be used for search and rescue. He said the camera could also be used by the police department when searching for a lost individual or a suspect.

In a press release from the office of Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, the congressman praised the grant award and said the department deserves the most modern safety gear.

“Firefighters are on the front lines every day, protecting lives and property in the community,” Bachus said in the release. “This grant will help ensure that the Warrior Fire Department has the resources it needs to quickly and effectively respond to fires and emergency calls,” Bachus said.

Neely said aside from the grant purchases, the department is in “excellent shape right now.”

The department is expecting the arrival of a new fire engine in about three weeks, bringing the total of frontline pumpers to three.

However, he said some nozzles need to be replaced and the department could use more night shift personnel, including medics.

“These are things we need, but city funds won’t allow it,” he said. “We just don’t have the revenue right now.”

FEMA said this week that more than $600,000 in grant money had been awarded to fire departments statewide and more than $16 million had been distributed nationally this week.