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Grant awarded by state will help replace HFD thermal cameras, ice suits

FILE PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

The Hopkinton Fire Department is set to get new pieces of firefighting gear, thanks to a grant from the state.

Town Manager Elaine Lazarus announced in her newsletter last week that the HFD was awarded a nearly $19,000 grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and the Department of Fire Services. Through the Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program, the department will be able to afford two new thermal imaging cameras and three ice rescue suits.

HFD Chief Gary Daugherty says the grant will help his department replace aging equipment. The HFD’s current thermal imaging cameras have been in service since the mid-2000s. Likewise, he estimates the ice suits predate his tenure with the fire department.

“I bet you they’re pushing 30 years old,” said Daugherty.

The HFD uses this equipment out in the field regularly. Firefighters will don the ice suits for situations with cold water immersion. Likewise, the cameras serve a number of functions — navigating situations with low visibility, finding hotspots, tracking hidden fire inside walls and so on.

Daugherty says his department applies for the EOPSS grant every year. In 2024, the HFD was awarded approximately the same amount and used it to replace attack hoses on both of its pumper trucks.

“Next year, if the grant is still out there, we’ll replace ballistic gear for the firefighters,” he said.

Latest News

The Select Board Tuesday night heard budgetary requests from public safety officials, which included a proposed upgrade to the town’s radio infrastructure, step increases in salaries and improvements to the firehouse.

The owners of Central Public House are in the final stages of selling to local restaurateurs who plan on bringing a new dining experience to Hopkinton.

The Historical Commission approved a motion Tuesday night to encourage a proposed plaque honoring enslaved African-Americans be relocated from the Town Common to the Hughes/Collela properties.

Town meetings tonight include the Adaptive Playground Committee (6) and the Open Space Preservation Commission (7).

Photo of the Day

Thick slabs of ice around a rock formation at the Hopkinton Reservoir break off of the larger ice sheet.

PHOTO/AMIT JAGDALE