RCFD receives $82,000 federal grant

Fifteen years ago, the Rockwell City Fire Department received one of the first Homeland Security grants to purchase equipment to help firefighters breathe in burning buildings.
As parts of that equipment expire this year, the department turned back to the federal agency to ask for help again buying equipment. The department learned last month its grant application was again successful, bringing in $82,386, which the department will match with about $4,100 of its own money.
The air bottles, which expire, cost about $1,000 each. The department will also replace the breathing apparatus, too.
“The ones we’ll get this time will have a little larger tank,” Rockwell City Fire Chief Shane Voith said. “There’s safety features that firefighters have taken off in the past. Now they’re integrated.”