Fire services receive grant

Funds will be used to purchase six cardiac monitor/defibrillators.

Lakota to discuss open enrollment proposal
Updated 18 min. ago
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
Updated 23 min. ago
Coroner called to Caesar Creek Lake where boater fell overboard
12:12 p.m.
Road closing for railroad repairs
11:51 a.m.
Worker falls 20 feet from utility pole
11:14 a.m.
> More headlines

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 12:25 AM Thursday, February 16, 2012

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Fire Department has been awarded a $162,000 grant by the Department of Homeland Security.

According to Lt. Tom Wagner, a paramedic with the department, the grant is a 90/10 split between the federal government and the city. The portion the city must contribute toward the purchase of the new equipment is $18,000.

“With the way budgets are, this probably would have had to come out of the capital improvement fund,” Wagner said.

The fire department will receive six Lifepak-15 cardiac monitor/defibrillators, which each cost $30,000. These monitor/defibrillators will go on each of the city’s three paramedic ambulances and on all three front-line fire engines, which are equipped with advanced life support medical gear.

The new models replace the Lifepak-12 equipment the department has now, which are about two years past their lifespans.

The new monitor/defibrillators have capabilities that the old ones do not, including the ability to measure carbon monoxide levels in a patient’s blood, and child-sized equipment like blood pressure cuffs and pulse oximeter sensors, as well as technology upgrades.

“These have telemetry, which means we can send EKG data to the hospital, and they can begin work even before the patient gets there,” Wagner said.

Fairfield applied for the grant in 2011.

Share this article