Middlefield Fire Dept. Receives $4,500 Grant Toward Dry Hydrants

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection awarded State Fire Assistance Dry Hydrant Grants to eight local fire departments in seven communities, to help fund the cost of installing 14 dry hydrants.

These dry hydrants provide invaluable water supply when pressurized fire hydrants are not an option or when additional water is required to suppress difficult and/or large fires, the DEEP said in a press release.

These federal funds, which are administered by DEEP’s Division of Forestry, have been made available through the United States Forest Service, State Fire Assistance Program. This program provides a $1,500 cost share reimbursement for the installation of each dry hydrant.

The United States Forest Service through State Fire Assistance and Volunteer Fire Assistance programs provide financial support to individual states. These programs help DEEP’s Division of Forestry enhance the firefighting capacity of local fire departments throughout Connecticut.

Grants provided through these programs are cost share grants and allow local matching funds to leverage the federal investment. DEEP’s Division of Forestry has been distributing federal funds for dry hydrant installation since 2001 which has assisted with over 250 installations throughout the state.

The following is a list of the fire department receiving grants:

• Baltic Fire Department $3,000
• Clinton Volunteer Fire Department $3,000
• Mansfield Fire Department $3,000
• Middlefield Volunteer Fire Department $4,500
• Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department $1,500
• Union Volunteer Fire Department Inc. $1,500
• Willington Fire Department #1 $3,000
• Willington Hill Fire Department $1,500

For more information on dry hydrants and their benefits to Connecticut communities please visit: DEEP: Fire Protection and Control Videos - Dry Hydrants and Fire Protection.

Photo by MattShelby, via flickr creative commons