A $1.3 million FEMA grant will help the city of West Palm Beach pay for more than 100 breathing packs, 22 lost-firefighter locators as well as training in marine firefighting, fire survival, injury prevention and fire investigation.

The FEMA funds were awarded last week and will be a huge help for the city’s older equipment.

U.S. Congresswoman Lois Frankel speaks with West Palm Beach firefighter Ashley Schnitzler Friday morning about firefighters’ breathing apparatus or “air packs.” West Palm Beach Commissioner Cory Neering is seen behind them at a press conference announcing a $1.38 million FEMA grant for new equipment. (photo by David Rogers)

“They keep us safe. We’ve going to keep them safe. That is what this is all about,” Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, said Friday at a news conference at the city’s fire station at 500 N. Dixie Highway.

In late March, Frankel and the rest of the county’s congressional delegation lent support to the city’s application through a letter to FEMA chief Craig Fugate.

The department’s contained-breathing equipment and lost-firefighter locators are more than 10 years old and aren’t up to current National Fire Protection Association standards, said Assistant Fire Chief Diana Matty. The department will likely have the equipment on its trucks in five months, after it researches available options and trains all 184 firefighters in how to use them, Matty said.

WPB Assistant Fire Chief Diana Matty (photo by David Rogers)

“Some of the newer features that we are going to expect with ours are LED lights that indicate when the firefighter is low on air, instead of just having buzzers and whistles – so there’s redundant low-air notification systems,” Matty said.

Last year, the city’s firefighters used contained-breathing devices or air packs on 169 calls for structural fires, an increase from 145 such calls in 2013. Increased use wears out the devices, Matty said.

And firefighters also use them when dealing with hazardous materials, car fires and brush fires. The FEMA grant will allow an upgrade of air packs for the 54 or so firefighters on duty at any one time, she said.

Newer devices used to locate lost or trapped firefighters employ radio frequency to increase the volume of alarm “beeps” when firefighters get closer to a colleague in need, Matty said.

Frankel, a former West Palm Beach mayor and resident for more than 30 years, said she’s witnessed the department in action during training exercises.

“I know what a risky job they have. People think it’s bright in a fire, but it can be smoky and pitch black,” she said.

City Administrator Jeff Green and commissioners Keith A. James, Cory Neering and Paula Ryan also attended the event.