Firefighters Get $136K FEMA Grant For Thermal Imaging Cameras

East Haven CT

11 August, 2021

1:06 PM

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EAST HAVEN, CT —Mayor Joseph A. Carfora and East Haven Fire Department Chief Matt Marcarelli Wednesday announced the award of $136,236 in federal assistance for the fire department to purchase new thermal imaging cameras. This award was fourth highest award in the state during this round of grants, officials said. Since 2017 the East Haven Fire Department has been awarded over $1.1 million through this grant program. The federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The funds, which were supported by legislators including state Rep. Joe Zullo and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, will be used to purchase 12 state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras which will allow firefighters to see through and find trapped victims, locate hidden fire in walls, thereby limiting damage, and can also be deployed at night to assist in the search for lost people by detecting their heat signature, Marcarelli and Carfora said. "The department currently does not have any functional NFPA rated thermal imagers. The last unit was taken out of service at the Countryside fire after being repaired several times due to normal wear and tear," Marcarelli said. "The technology has been around for a while but regular replacement was not a possibility due to other life safety items having a priority. Now every fire unit career and volunteer will have a thermal imager to deploy at an incident. This is lifesaving technology." Carfora said he "encouraged Chief Marcarelli to aggressively pursue grant funds whenever possible to reduce the financial obligation on the town who would normally fund these purchases." "In recent years, Chief Marcarelli has had great success competing for these funds," Carfora said. "I commend the chief for his work on this highly competitive grant and I am pleased to support his efforts. This equipment is essential to the life safety of firefighters and the public alike and we are fortunate to have a great team of professionals." Carfora also thanked DeLauro and Zullo for "continuing to support the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program." "This is another example of how working together benefits East Haven," Carfora said.