Hunterdon County fire company receives $10K grant to enhance hazmat incident preparedness and response
GLEN GARDNER BOROUGH, NJ (Hunterdon County) – The Glen Gardner Volunteer Fire Company has received a $10,000 grant as part of the 2024 CHEMTREC Hazmat Emergencies Local Preparedness (HELP) Award.
Although the award recipients were announced in December 2024, CHEMTREC® and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) officially presented the grant to the recipients in March 2025.
This funding is one of six nationwide grants awarded to volunteer fire departments to enhance their ability to respond to hazardous materials (hazmat) emergencies.
The 2024 recipients are as follows:
- Etowah (TN) Rescue Squad & Rural Fire Department: This grant will provide necessary equipment, protective gear, and training to ensure a safer and more efficient response to hazmat incidents.
- Glen Gardner (NJ) Volunteer Fire Company No. 1: The grant will help the department purchase equipment for its newly acquired hazmat supply trailer, enabling them to provide a broader range of containment for hazmat incidents than their current equipment allows.
- Pleasant Hope (MO) Fire Protection District: This funding will enhance the department’s ability to respond to hazmat incidents through equipment upgrades, enhanced training, public education, and upgraded protective gear.
- Robstown (TX) Volunteer Fire Department: The department will use the grant for training and to purchase proper protective gear to improve its hazmat incident preparedness.
- Sheridan (MI) Fire Department: The grant will help the department purchase equipment and provide training to better prepare responders for hazmat incidents and support regional hazmat readiness efforts.
- Town of Superior (WI) Volunteer Fire Department: This grant will enhance the department’s hazmat response and alerting capabilities through the purchase of a drone with the latest thermal imaging and recognition technology, along with related training.
“Any community – including small and rural communities – is at risk for a hazmat incident, whether from a pipeline, roadway, railroad, plant, or other source,” said Steve Hirsch, chair of the NVFC. “Volunteer fire and emergency service agencies in small communities often struggle to find funding for the equipment and training necessary to respond safely, effectively, and efficiently to these incidents. We are proud to have teamed up with CHEMTREC and its partners since 2019 to provide more departments with the tools, resources, and training they need to be best prepared.”
In March, representatives from CHEMTREC, Congressman Tom Kean’s office, State Assemblyman John DiMaio, the President of the National Volunteer Fire Council, OEM Coordinators, and other local government officials gathered at the Glen Gardner Fire Company station to celebrate the award, observe the fire company’s capabilities, and see firsthand how the donation has supported their efforts.
To apply for the grant, departments had to meet the following criteria: be more than 50 percent volunteer, serve a population of 25,000 or fewer, have an annual budget of less than $250,000, and have the department’s chief or applicant be a member of the NVFC. Grant funds must be used to increase the department’s hazmat response capabilities.
“The world increasingly relies on dangerous goods, and in communities large and small, first responders must be trained and equipped to handle hazardous materials,” said Andrew H. LaVanway, CEO of CHEMTREC. “We congratulate all of the 2024 HELP Award winners and look forward to seeing how they use these resources to make their communities safer and more resilient.”
“We thank these representatives for their support to help us get this grant.” said the Glen Gardner Fire Company. “Since receiving these supplies we have run multiple hazardous materials related calls using them on multiple occasions.”
