Bel Air Firefighters Get New Gear with $6,000 Grant

Bel Air firefighters can hear each other a little more clearly thanks to a recent $6,000 grant from a utility company.

"Last summer and fall, we had problems with microphones shorting out," Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company Chief Eddie Hopkins said.

"In some cases, they would lock the channel open, which means everyone on the fire ground has to go to a separate channel," Hopkins added of the radio communication.

Recently, the American Water Charitable Foundation—the outreach arm of drinking/wastewater company American Water—provided a $6,000 grant toward water-resistant lapel microphones for the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company.

"Coincidentally, American Water became aware that we had this project in the pipeline, and they had public safety dollars they wanted to use," Hopkins said.

The microphones cost roughly $150 apiece, and the department purchased 47 of them, according to Hopkins, who said the grant made the cost easier for the fire company to absorb.

The new mics, he added, were a necessary investment. "These are a lot more durable," Hopkins said. 

"If you're in a major working fire, you come out totally drenched—you're just soaked with water," Hopkins explained. "These give us the ability to have less interference."

The foundation presented firefighters with a check at the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company's February meeting.

"We are very appreciative of the life-saving and dangerous work conducted by the volunteer firefighters of Bel Air, and it is our pleasure to extend some financial assistance that both improves their ability to communicate, and makes them a little bit safer," Maryland American Water President William Walsh said in a prepared statement. "Through this grant, we recognize them and thank them for their service."