Saline, Ann Arbor Township firefighters to get new gear thanks to grant

Thanks to grants from the federal government, Saline firefighters will soon be outfitted with new gear, and Ann Arbor Township will get new nozzles for all of its fire trucks.

In Saline, the $57,915 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for each of the department’s seven full-time and 18 part-time firefighters to get new coats, pants, gloves, boots and helmets, said Fire Chief Craig Hoeft.

The money means a lot to a department the size of Saline’s, Hoeft said. Much of the department’s current gear is aging, so the new gear is sorely needed, he said.

“The standards change so much, so it’s nice to start fresh.”

Ann Arbor Township’s FEMA grant totaled $21,318. Both departments had to come up with a small amount of matching money to go along with the grants.