Kaneville Fire Rescue gets $15,443 grant

KANEVILLE – Two Kane County fire districts received grants from the Illinois State Fire Marshal through its Small Equipment Grant program.

Kaneville Fire Protection District received $15,443 and Pingree Grove & Countryside Fire Protection District received $20,480, officials said in a news release.

Kaneville Fire Chief David Sigmund said in an email that the district “continually applies for grants to increase our service to our community needs.”

“The last two grants for our EMS service have been an AutoPulse, which is an automated CPR device, and the latest grant is an automated stair chair to assist patients on EMS calls,” Sigmund said. “This device helps transport patients from upper and lower levels of their home to the ambulance quicker and easier. This also works in smaller hallways where the normal ambulance cots cannot navigate. These grants help with providing continuous improved EMS services to our community through Kaneville’s EMS services.”

The Small Equipment Grant program was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 each for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment, according to the release.

A total of $4 million was awarded to 165 fire departments, fire rescue districts and emergency medical services providers across the state, according to the release.

The program is an innovative approach to a problem that has long caused difficulties for fire departments and not-for profit ambulance services in Illinois, particularly those that have a hard time generating enough revenue to buy small equipment.

The purpose of the grant program is to allow eligible applicants the opportunity to buy small equipment that they may otherwise not be able to afford, according to the release.

The Fire Marshal’s Office received 417 applications requesting about $9.5 million in funding for the 2024 grant period.

“We continue to see and hear about the need and understand the issues fire departments face when it comes to funding across the state,” State Fire Marshal James Rivera said in the release. “I am proud this year we were able to increase our grant funding to $4 million, a $2.5 million increase from last year. The increase allowed us to award over 100 more departments money to purchase lifesaving tools they might not have been able to afford otherwise.”

Most Illinois fire departments, fire protections districts, township fire departments and stand-alone, nonprofit ambulance service providers were eligible to apply, according to the release.