The Cookeville Fire Department has been awarded an estimated $195,000 grant from TEMA to purchase additional hazardous materials response equipment.
Cookeville Fire Chief Benton Young said equipment will consist of two meters that will be used to test hazardous materials and some training props. Young said the fire department is hoping to use the equipment to obtain a TEMA Hazmat certification.
“This equipment and the training this one will provide should allow us to get up to a category certified two, which is a huge significance for this whole area because there is really none around here between Nashville and Knoxville.”
Young said Cookeville rarely sees a hazardous material spill. When it has happened, Young said it has been fairly small spills. Young said it’s good to have the certification to respond to hazardous material spills rather than having to rely on someone else.
“With I-40, and (Highway) 111 coming through here, you know, and Highway 70, and a lot of the state roads too, you’ve got a lot of different chemicals and materials coming through here on a daily basis,” Young said. “So we have probably been lucky to a degree on that side, but unfortunately, that can happen any day.”
The City of Cookeville provided an estimated $39,000 match as part of the grant. Young said he was thrilled to be awarded the grant.
“The cost for this equipment is expensive; that’s the reason the grant was so substantial,” Young said. ” So you know to purchase that just from the city itself, that can kind of be a burden sometimes. So being able to get a grant to help with this training and this equipment it’s tremendous.”
Young said that grants like this allow the department to free up funds to spend elsewhere. Young said he is hopeful to receive the equipment within the next few months.
