By TIFFANY ROYAL

Staff Writer

KINGSTON — Thanks to the Department of Homeland Security, North Kitsap Fire & Rescue firefighters will soon have new equipment that will help them fight fires more efficiently.

NKF&R received official word last week that it has been awarded a $206,855 federal grant from the DHS’ Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The money will be used to replace the district’s 10-year-old self-contained breathing apparatus units with 42 new ones.

The individual units consist of a large bottle of pressurized air and a face mask, which provide firefighters with fresh air while working on a fire.

All the districts in the North End, including NKF&R, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department and the Poulsbo Fire Department, applied for the program grants.

“We’re looking at upgrading the self-contained air packs and we wanted to be standardized within the county as much as possible,” said NKF&R Fire Chief Paul Nichol.

While both NKF&R and Bainbridge Island received money, PFD did not, but it will apply again next year, said PFD Fire Chief Jim Shields, noting that the district’s units are only about 9 years old and have about seven years of use left.

The units at NKF&R, on the other hand, are reaching the end of their useful life of about 11 years. Nichol said he was especially “grateful” to attain the grant, given the fact that strained budgets and limited revenues are becoming the norm.

“If we hadn’t received this grant, I don’t know where we would have gotten the funding to replace these airpacks,” Nichol said. “You can only test and use the bottles for a certain number of years.”

The primary difference between a new and old units is the length of time firefighters will be able to use them during a fire. With the current system, bottles only last about 30 minutes. With the new system, bottles will last for 45 minutes.

“We can stay in the building longer without having to replace the bottle,” Nichol explained.

As the new units come in, all responders will be trained before using them in the field, he said. The district will also upgrade its compressor system, which is used to refill the bottles with air. The grant will also provide funding so the district can purchase equipment for two Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) packs.

A RIT pack is a group of two or three people on the scene of an emergency that is ready to back up crews, for instance if someone gets hurt while fighting a fire or a stairway collapses.

These teams are able to respond within seconds, Nichol said.

U.S. Congressman Jay Inslee’s office notified NKF&R of the award last week.

“This grant is great news for the brave men and women at North Kitsap Fire & Rescue who protect our community,” Inslee said in a prepared statement. “We must provide these firefighters with the resources they need to effectively and safely respond to local emergencies. I am glad that the federal government recognizes the committed work of North Kitsap Fire & Rescue and the great job they do in safeguarding our families and our homes.”