Fire department to buy emergency shelters

The Huntington Beach Fire Department has received $19,584 in competitive federal grant funding as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The funds will be used to purchase emergency fire shelters for wildland firefighting that will meet federal mandates.

This is the fourth time the department has obtained this type of grant funding. It has used the $197,532 raised to purchase firefighter protective outerwear, exercise equipment and other wildland firefighting equipment.

Over the past five years, this department has responded to 46 strike team deployments on wildfires throughout the region.

In 2007, the fire department responded to 12 major wildland fires.

— Candice Baker