Keyport First Aid to receive $74K grant BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer KEYPORT - The Keyport First Aid Squad received a $74,955 grant under the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate's Fiscal Year 2007 Assistance to Firefighters grant program. The grant is one that Capt. Ken Krohe has attempted to get for his squad for the past few years. "It was our third shot at filling out the forms, and I'm happy to say we finally got it," Krohe said. "We really pushed for it when we sent it out." The purpose of the grant, which is disbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is to assist emergency workers in four areas: the modification of facilities, personal protective equipment, EMS equipment, and EMS training. The squad will be using $14,000 to modify facilities such as the exhaust systems, according to Krohe. "Basically we are using it to subdue the diesel fuels from the ambulances that may go into the air," Krohe said. "Getting rid of those poisons is something that we needed to do." Krohe said that $40,050 will be used to purchase personal protective equipment, which helps keep the first aid workers safe. Coats, pants and boots are some of the protective equipment the squad plans to spend that portion of the money on. Krohe said that $23,850 will be used for EMS equipment such as pagers to make response time that much faster. The final $1,000 will be used for training current and future EMS workers. T he squad members are aware that Krohe worked for years to secure the funds. "We are very proud of our Captain Ken Krohe for all of his hard work and time [spent] to help us get this grant," Ruth Grabowski, president of the first aid squad, said in an e-mail. "We are also very excited to be getting new equipment." Krohe said he would continue to seek funding in the future to help the first aid volunteers in Keyport. "We can apply for this grant as many times as needed," Krohe said. "We will be sending them out in the future." Krohe said that any amount of money would have been greatly appreciated, but the $74,955 is a large infusion of funds for the squad. "For us it's a lot of money," Krohe said. "The grant will go a long way for us."