By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

The Southwood Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The fire department, stationed at 4581 Grace Place in Jamesville, will purchase 16 new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) with the help of the $94,476 grant.

“When Senator [Kirsten] Gillibrand’s office called me before I got the official word from FEMA, I about fell out of my chair,” Fire Chief Tom Bouvia said. “It means a lot to us. We’ve been trying to get this grant for the last five years.”

Firefighters wear the breathing devices into environments like houses or cars on fire to breathe in compressed air and keep from breathing in smoke.

“The SCBA’s the greatest tool that we have in our toolbox in protecting ourselves,” Bouvia said. “It’s kind of like a scuba tank but for a fire.”

Some SCBA packs, like ones the department plans to purchase, contain built-in thermal-imaging cameras.

These cameras convert infrared radiation into visible light, allowing firefighters to monitor areas of heat and the spread of a fire through the cover of heat, darkness and other barriers.

“No longer does a firefighter necessarily need to carry an extra piece of equipment, a life-saving piece of equipment,” Bouvia said.

Bouvia said the 20 SCBAs the department currently owns have all aged at least 15 years.

“Knowing the clock is ticking that we had to buy all new SCBAs ourselves, it was just great timing,” Bouvia said. “Some are already past their time. The rest are due to be replaced within the next year. It’s a world of difference.”

With the average SCBA costing around $6,000 according to Bouvia, he said the grant relieved the fire department of the task of gathering $90,000 from its budget or through an increased tax burden.

“We’re elated,” Bouvia said. “It’s one less thing that we have to worry about and one less thing to try to raise funds for. It just doesn’t fall on the shoulder of our taxpayers or at the expense of something else. Any time you have a budgeting type of business, you gotta rob from Peter to pay Paul.”

The fire department’s budget runs on a fiscal calendar from the beginning of January through December.

With the planned purchases, Bouvia said the fire department would decrease its supply of SCBAs from 20 to just the 16 new pieces of equipment.

He said the department would find the money in subsequent years to cover additional SCBAs.

The all-volunteer department, which runs on the help of 23 members, celebrated its 75th year of service to the town of Onondaga on Sept. 15.

Bouvia said that despite its recognition as a long-standing establishment, the Southwood Volunteer Fire Department’s fire house is “tucked away on a side street,” hiding it from the public eye.

“It doesn’t have that curb appeal like some of the fire departments that are right on the main street through their village or their town,” he said.

Whatever its level of curb appeal, Bouvia said the fire department’s members maintain a familial-type bond.

“It really is a family atmosphere,” Bouvia said. “We get together to help provide vital service to the community, and we all get along, which is wonderful. There’s not a lot of squabbling, so maybe it’s better than a family atmosphere in that regard.”

For more information on the department, visit southwoodfd.com or its Facebook page at Southwood Volunteer Fire Dept/