Marquette Township Fire Money

The Marquette Township Fire Department gets thousands of federal dollars.

It should give firefighters an easier time breathing in emergencies.

The money comes from the Department of Homeland Security, and it amounts to just over $31,000.

It’ll buy 40 new air packs for their self-contained breathing apparatus.

Instead of aluminum or forged steel, the new ones will be made of a lightweight composite material.

Fire Marshal Ron DeMarse says the new packs are more than 20 pounds lighter than the old ones, making it much easier to maneuver quickly in difficult spaces.

He says they’ve been trying to get funding for the new packs for years.

It’ll also buy a flow tester, something that has to be used to inspect the packs.

Until now, they’ve had to call companies from outside the U.P. to come in and run the tests, or they’ve had to ship the packs to those companies and then have them mailed back.

DeMarse says the grant also covers training for their staff to learn how to use the flow tester.

They’ll then make it available to any fire service in Marquette County that wants to use it.

The fire departments in Sault Ste. Marie, Dafter Township and Brevort Township are also getting money from this same round of DHS grants.