Twenty-five area fire and ambulance companies received a total of $16,400 in funding recently from the Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation, according to Kevin C. Merchant, president.

In Jewett City, the A.A. Young Jr. Hose & Ladder Co. #1 received $1,000 from the Foundation to purchase a rescue jack system for extricating victims from vehicles and buildings. Canterbury’s Volunteer Fire Department & Ambulance received $1,100 in annual support, and the Mortlake Fire Co. & Ambulance Service received a $1,000 annual support grant.

Griswold Community Ambulance and Moosup’s American Legion Ambulance Fund each received $700 in annual support. In Wauregan, the Atwood Hose Fire Company will use its $500 grant from the Foundation to replace strobe light bars on primary fire apparatus, to provide improved safety and visibility. A $500 award to Central Village Fire Co. #1 in Central Village will be used to purchase replacement hydraulic hoses that connect its Jaws of Life rescue equipment to power units.

In Danielson, the Foundation’s $500 grant to the Killingly-Brooklyn Ambulance Corps will go toward the purchase of a new Stryker Stretcher to replace an old manual stretcher. The Corps also received $500 in annual Foundation support.

The Dayville Fire District received a $500 grant to upgrade computers that run an accountability program that tracks the position of firefighters on the scene of all incidents. In Brooklyn, the East Brooklyn Fire Department will purchase backboards and straps to provide better patient safety with the $500 it received from the Foundation, while the Moosup Fire Department will use its $500 gift to purchase a gas meter to detect dangerous levels of gases and other chemicals.

Oneco Fire Company #1 received $500 to purchase a hose washer and rope rescue equipment, and Plainfield Fire Co. #1 will use its $500 Foundation award to purchase a smoke machine for use in interior firefighting training. Pomfret Ambulance Service will use its $600 award to purchase portable radios to increase communications between dispatch and ambulance, and to provide pagers for notification of emergency calls. A $500 gift will replace and upgrade the power unit for the Jaws of Life for the Preston City Volunteer Fire Department.

Sterling’s Volunteer Fire Company received $500 from the Foundation to purchase GPS units for each of the three primary fire/rescue trucks, to reduce response time to emergency scenes. Voluntown Volunteer Fire Co. No 1 was awarded $500 for the purchase of a Sonar imaging system to help locate drowning victims and perform water search, rescue and recovery operations.

Additional annual support
Grants in the amount of $600 were given to the Williamsville Fire Engine Company (Rogers), South Killingly Fire Department, Preston City Volunteer Fire Department, and Poquetanuck Fire Department EMS. Also receiving $600 awards were the Attawaugan Fire Department, Danielson Fire Department, Dayville Fire Company, and East Killingly Fire Department. Lisbon Ambulance Service received $500 in annual support.

The grants awarded by the Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation in 2011 totaled $52,300, supporting a variety of community initiatives in the Bank’s marketplace.