The NVFD recently received a grant of $176,460 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to purchase personal protection gear for its firefighters.

This was the department’s second attempt for the grant, which has only been available for two years. Called the FIRE ACT, the program was enacted by Congress to assist first responders across the country. This year, Nokesville’s application was favorably reviewed by a panel of their peers and Senator George Allen’s office notified it of the award on September 26.

Deputy Chief Andrew Frizzle and Assistant Chief Norman Frizzle authored the successful application. Grant money must be used for the specific purpose indicated under the category Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety. NVFD has one year to spend the money and must match the grant with 10% of its own funds. It will use the money to purchase Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBAs) and turn-out gear. SCBAs supply clean breathing air during firefighting. Turn-out gear includes all personal protection equipment, such as helmets, boots and clothing.

Said Deputy Chief Frizzle, "The money will allow us to upgrade all of our SCBAs. We will be able to put the newest technology to work for our firefighters. This will aid in the safety of our personnel and also assure our equipment is compatible with the surrounding departments."

"We were very excited when we received the notification of the grant award," added Assistant Chief Frizzle. "It takes years to raise this amount of money through traditional fundraising."

Andrew Frizzle, Deputy Chief, NVFD