By Brynn Schintgen
Contributing Writer
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Metro Fire Department was recently awarded a $430,000 grant funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The grant, which was secured in part by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, will be primarily used to train team members on how to respond in various emergency situations, particularly involving pipe leaks.
Fire Chief Matthew Knott said that “the funding will be used to provide training for our personnel to respond to pipeline emergencies.”
It will also fund new “training props, equipment, and supplies.”
This was a competitive grant process, and an important one, Knott stressed.
“[The grant] will ensure our responders are prepared to respond to incidents involving pipelines. PHMSA’s goal is to ensure that responders who receive training under the grant will have the ability to protect nearby persons, property and the environment from the effects of pipeline accidents or incidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials,” he said.
The PHMSA, or Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, is a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation that specializes in the safe transport of hazardous materials.
This includes, but is not limited to, the transportation of natural gas and petroleum products.
Additionally, Knott said that “the Green Bay Metro Fire Department operates a regional hazardous materials response team housed at our Fire Station 5 (2310 Finger Rd., Green Bay). We are an all-hazards department that provides EMS, fire, hazardous materials, urban search and rescue, and marine firefighting and rescue services.”
That being said, this grant will give the Green Bay Metro fire department the funding that they need to be able to enhance the way their team members respond to these types of situations so they can keep community members and the environment safe.
For more information, visit https://pipelinesafety.dot.gov/about-phmsa/working-phmsa/grants/pipeline/pipeline-emergency-response-grant-perg.