Round Top firefighters get $144K for new airpacks

ROUND TOP―Senator Michelle Hinchey stopped by the Round Top Firehouse on Tuesday, bringing with her a giant check.

The $144,240 in state funding will help the department purchase a dozen Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), portable devices worn to provide clean, breathable air in toxic, smoke-filled or oxygen-deficient environments.

“They allow firefighters to go into a building and not breath in carcinogens and protect our lungs,” explained Lieutenant John O’Dowd, who also serves as the department’s treasurer.

O’Dowd, who began applying for grants for SCBA about three years ago, reached out to Greene County Legislator Harry Lennon of Cairo, who in turn contacted Hinchey (D-Saugerties).

“For what you do we cannot thank you enough,” Lennon told firefighters.

“If we did not have you, we don’t know what we would do,” he added.

The new SCBA, expected to be delivered next month, will replace older airpacks that Round Top firefighters have been using for the last 20 years.

“It’s an upgrade,” said O’Dowd, noting that the new SCBA are not only lighter but also have what is known as a “buddy breather.”

“So, if you are in an environment and something happens to another person’s air supply, you can hook on right away. The packs we have now are not capable of that,” he explained.

For small departments like Round Top, O’Dowd said the funding is a blessing. Their entire annual budget is just over $100,000 and more than a third of that goes to loan payments on a truck.

“Supporting our first responders, especially our volunteer firefighters, is really important,” said Hinchey.

Encompassing all or parts of four counties, Hinchey’s senate district has about 100 volunteer firehouses and she said many people don’t realize how strapped they are for funding or how expensive equipment can be.

“They spend so much of their time protecting us and showing up for our community and yet they don’t have access to the resources they need―not only to keep us safe but to keep themselves safe in the process,” Hinchey said.

“I feel really privileged to be able to help,” she added.