ANSONIA — Thanks to three grants, Ansonia Fire Department has acquired additional equipment.

Fire Chief William Clark said two of the items were obtained with an EMS grant, another by the Darke Rural Electric and the other grant from State Fire Marshal’s Office. And, all of the equipment with the exception of the three Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs), came from the All American Fire Company.

The grants totaled $15,280; $10,000 for one, $3,000 for another and $2,800 for the other.

In addition to the AEDs, the department now has two more thermal imaging cameras; two gas detectors made in Valparaiso, Indiana; first responder bags; and turbo flares to be used at landing zones for CareFlight.

“Heart attacks are the number one killer for firefighters,” Clark said. “There are cardiac issues in auto accidents. Two Greenville firefighters had attacks and lived.”

The two new defibrillators will be added to the one that was obtained last year from the State Fire Marshal’s grant. Before that, they had no such thing.

“They are all computerized,” the chief said. “We can give immediate response to aid a person. We get in the go-now quicker. It’s a little more than first-aid.”

“It’s good for firefighters who don’t have an EMS with us on field fires,” Assistant Chief Dusty Brunner said.

The gas detectors that were acquired, Clark said, are essential for what the firefighters do in monitoring various gases, including radon and oxygen. And, they take the place of two outdated gas meters the fire department had.

The two new thermal imaging cameras have also allowed the fire department to upgrade its system.

“We can video hot spots at a fire,” the chief said. “Thermal imaging has a lot more advanced detection with technology, such as cell phones. They’re small. They are three pounds while our others were eight pounds.”

He went on, “It has audio, and also visual. There are lights around it and they vibrate. We’ve gone from a bulky camera to two, which increases our capabilities. They will go in with firefighters after a fire for search and rescue. The speed is faster and it will keep up with the you as you’re moving. It does video and takes pictures. We can download them for training and review it afterwards. In arson investigations, we can facilitate the picture for evidence. It’s digital at that point and we can e-mail them.”

Capt. Jerome Dotson wrote the grants for the department.

“We have gotten a lot of stuff in the last two years equipment wise,” Clark said. “We have better safety in our own department.

There are 21 firefighters in Ansonia.

“Three trucks carry the AEDs,” Clark said. “There are 21 first responders, four EMTs and two advanced (Brunner and Dotson).

Ansonia Fire Department covers all of Brown Township, the and the Village of Ansonia as well as part of Richland and York townships.

“They did a great job applying for the grants,” said Loy, representing All American Fire Company and is also chief of Liberty Township Fire Department in Darke County.

“We’re not only protecting our citizens and the community but our own guys,” Brunner said.