FEMA ponies up $524K for North Irwin fire truck

It’s taken five years of trying for North Irwin firefighters to be awarded a hefty federal grant — $524,000 — for a new fire engine.

“They’re very difficult to get,” said fire Chief Glenn Geiger.

Now, it’ll likely be another three years before they can get that new truck on the road. Before that, the department will be relying on the generosity of residents in North Irwin and surrounding communities to help foot the rest of the bill.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency vehicle acquisition grant will replace two engines, which carry water and equipment to a scene, dating to 1976 and 1996. The department has to put a $26,000 match toward the grant.

While firefighters were excited to learn of the award, hundreds of thousands more will be needed to get the truck designed specifically for North Irwin.

“The grant will basically get you two-thirds of a new fire truck and you have to basically fundraise and pay for the remaining bit of it,” said Adam Gogets, deputy fire chief.

The truck’s total cost could be as much as $800,000 to $900,000 once the department outfits it completely. They’re budgeting approximately $825,000, Gogets said.

“We’re not sure what the price tag’s going to be yet,” Geiger said.

North Irwin has 35 members on the roster and firefighters respond to about 250 calls annually. The department helps neighboring municipalities and other communities elsewhere in the county.

They’re no stranger to fundraising — donations make up the majority of the department’s annual budget in addition to the $5,000 it gets from the borough’s fire tax. Profits from annual gun bashes, fish frys and ticket sales, Facebook tip boards, hoagie sales and the social club and bowling alley will be directed toward the new truck purchase.

“We’re going to step it up a little bit,” Geiger said.

“Everything we have here, we’ve worked for,” Gogets said.

The station hasn’t bought a brand new engine since 1989. Without the FEMA grant, firefighters would have had to continue buying used equipment.

“We hope that our support from our community and the surrounding communities continues and they realize that the money they spend … that it’s going to be put to good use,” Gogets said.

North Irwin Volunteer Fire Company also got a $15,334 operations and safety grant from FEMA. That money will be used to replace the department’s 20-year-old air monitoring equipment to detect for carbon monoxide and gas.

Costs for new fire trucks can easily hit around $1 million.

That’s what Export Volunteer Fire Department was looking at when it was awarded the same FEMA vehicle acquisition grant last year, officials said then.

But South Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department got its order for a new engine in before prices started going up, said Chief Matt White. The department paid $630,000 for a new engine that was ordered in August 2021 and hit the streets this month.

It was completely funded by donations in addition to $30,000 from the sale of the 1994 truck it replaced, White said.

“We did ours through fundraising,” he said.