STRONG – The Strong Fire Department has won a $33,630 grant from Department of Homeland Security, fire Chief Scott Dyar said Friday.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, announced the award earlier in the week.

The department applied for the grant in the spring of 2008. It has 12 months to use the money.

The grant will pay to replace four mobile radios and apparatus to make them meet narrow-band standards as set by the Federal Communications Commission. The standards tie in with the digital television conversion, Dyar said.

The department will also purchase a new thermal-imaging camera and a washer/extractor to clean firefighter gear, Dyar said.

The fourth item covered by the grant is a fire extinguisher simulator for training. This is a 3-foot square screen with a laser that allows training without the mess. No chemicals are used but it meets all federal requirements for training. The department plans to use the training device in local schools, businesses and to share with other fire departments, Dyar said.

The funding is provided through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.