2 Nassau County fire departments to receive nearly $50G total for improvements

The Bellerose Terrace and Village of East Rockaway fire departments are slated to receive nearly $50,000 total to improve operations and safety.

The two fire departments received the funding through the national Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Bellerose Terrace will receive $34,675 and East Rockaway will get $14,250.

“Our local fire departments protect us during disasters and emergencies and sometimes they need our help too,” Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) said in a statement. McCarthy’s district office helped East Rockaway with its application for the federal grant.

This is the 10th time East Rockaway’s department has been awarded the grant, bringing its total to more than $1.85 million, village mayor Francis T. Lenahan, Jr. said.

“These federally funded grants allow the Fire Department to recruit and retain volunteer members, and to procure essential equipment while keeping the cost burden away from our local taxpayer,” Lenahan, Jr. said in a statement.

Kevin Mulrooney, vice president of JSK Inc. — a company specializing in writing fire grants hired by Bellerose Terrace — said the department will use the money to purchase a diesel exhaust or a generator.

“After the recent hurricane, the importance of electric generation and the ability to charge vehicles, portable radios, emergency lighting, and open the bay doors was brought to the forefront as urgent,” Mulrooney said.