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Ballardsville Fire Dept. demonstrates one of several new breaking apparatus. 

Ballardsville Fire Dept. demonstrates one of several new breathing apparatus. 

Ballardsville Fire Dept. is one of four departments in Oldham County to receive part of the $860K FEMA grant.  

Ballardsville Fire Dept. demonstrates one of several new breaking apparatus. 

BALLARDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four Oldham County Fire Departments have brand new devices that will not only keep them safe but help those they serve.

The Ballardsville, South Oldham, La Grange and Westport fire departments will share a $860,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ballardsville Assistant Chief Ryan Baker helped draft the application nearly three years ago.

Ballardsville Fire Dept. demonstrates one of several new breathing apparatus. 

The money was used to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus, which can cost nearly $7,000 each.

“All the departments had to come together that were included in the grant to come up with their run volume, run totals, budget summaries and ... we all had to show need for it,” Ballardsville Fire Chief Stephen Fante said.

That need was decades-old. The older tanks and air supplies were purchased 20 years ago. The grant allowed the departments to buy 124 spare cylinders, 124 breathing apparatus and 137 face pieces.

“The grant requires the needs, the dates, all the equipment," Fante said. "... what we have, what we need, why we need it."

The older air packs required AA, AAA, and C batteries and would often die quickly. The new packs use rechargeable batteries that last much longer and come with a warranty.

The Ballardsville Fire Department has a budget of less than $1 million a year, so every penny is used to pay for things larger departments often get easier.

Ballardsville Fire Dept. is one of four departments in Oldham County to receive part of the $860K FEMA grant.  

The replaced equipment will now be sent to the Dunnville Fire Department in Casey County for them to use.

The four-department grant is the largest equipment grant award from FEMA in the history of Kentucky.

“A fire is a fire is a fire," Fante said. "It doesn't know if it is a rural or city department. We are lucky if we have a hydrant out here. We train together as a county. We make runs together as a county and we're proud of that.

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