POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino awarded $134,303 in funding recently to nine recipients of the County’s second round of Fly Car Grant Awards. These grants provide critical funding for life-saving equipment to fire departments, rescue squads, and ambulance corps.
In doling out the awards, Serino said, “Fly Cars continue to be a vital tool for our local first responders, allowing them to provide fast, critical support to patients in life-threatening situations. This grant program is helping raise awareness about EMS in our community, especially how rewarding careers saving lives can be. We are proud to support our local agencies as they continue to build their response capabilities to best protect the health and safety of our communities.”
The Roosevelt Fire District in Hyde Park received $20,000 in the second round of grants that provide funding for life-saving equipment, such as automatic chest compression devices, carbon monoxide poisoning detectors, trauma bag supplies, and automated external defibrillators (AEDs), provided the recipients display branded, unified recruitment messaging promoting career and volunteer opportunities in EMS, on their fly cars or other support vehicles, including a link to the County’s EMS recruitment website, which can be found.
Roosevelt Fire District Chief Jeff Scala said, Jeff Scala, Chief of Roosevelt Fire District in Hyde Park, said, “This grant helps us grow our capacity to respond, both by adding necessary, life-saving equipment, and helping boost our ongoing volunteer recruitment efforts.”
The following districts or agencies received funding during round two of the grants:
- Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corp – $16,310
- City of Beacon Fire Department – $16,579
- City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department – $8,235
- J. H. Ketcham Hose Co., Inc. – $17,150
- LaGrange Fire District – $19,858
- New Hamburg Fire District – $11,100
- Rombout Fire District – $5,124
- Roosevelt Fire District – $20,000
- Tivoli Fire and Rescue – $19,947
This initiative is part of the county’s investment in addressing the EMS crisis through programs and partnerships. As part of ongoing efforts to build awareness of the challenges facing EMS, the County has launched a multi-pronged public awareness campaign, EMS Matters. The campaign has focused not only on recruitment for EMTs and paramedics, but also on how to recognize the signs of a true emergency that needs EMS versus heading to an urgent care facility, safety and prevention tips.
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