Great Falls Fire Rescue (GFFR) is working to upgrade some of its equipment through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.
The application is for $199,704 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s AFG program.
If approved, the federal share would be $181,549, and the city’s 10% match would be $18,154 through the city’s GFFR budget.
“We’ve relied heavily [on federal funds] to maintain operations through the granting process,” said Jeremy Jones, Great Falls Fire Chief.
According to Jones, GFFR’s annual budgeting process doesn’t allow for the necessary equipment upgrades that the federal grants can accomplish.
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GFFR staff said more than 90% of their overall budget is dedicated to operations, majority of which is personnel costs.
“The problem is all the work that has been done over the last ten years in addressing our budget, which they have been able to make strides, we're trying to overcome 50-some years of being behind,” chief Jones explained.
Katie Brewer, community risk reduction manager for GFFR, said, “We have hose that we still use that we purchased back in 1975, some of it in the 1980s. It's well past its life cycle, but we are doing everything we can to keep it working. Just certain things that our budget doesn't allow us to prioritize because it is still working, it's just past its life cycle.”
If this AFG grant is awarded, the funds will go towards upgrading equipment such as new hose, a powerlifting gurney system for their ambulance, as well as new mannequins for medical training.
“The safety of our men and women in this department is of the most crucial importance, so getting some of these things we're going after through a grant process is crucial,” said chief Jones. “I mean, if we have a firefighter go down on a back injury because they're lifting a patient, that firefighter is unavailable to the city for whatever that period of convalescence time is.”
The city will be notified in September or October if the grant has been awarded, and the money would be spent during the city’s budget for fiscal year 2026.
