Hanover Fire Department Receives $50,000 Emergency Management Planning Grant 10/11/22
The Hanover Fire Department is pleased to announce that it has been awarded an Emergency Management Planning Grant (EMPG) in the amount of $50,000. The funds from this grant will allow the Town to make necessary upgrades to the Hanover High School emergency power system. This project is a collaborative effort between the Hanover Fire Department, Emergency Management Agency, Department of Public Works, and Hanover Public Schools.
Hanover High School serves as the Town’s emergency shelter when needed. Several years ago, it was determined that the emergency power system at the school was not capable of providing the power necessary to safely and effectively operate a shelter. Fire and emergency management officials created alternative plans for if sheltering was necessary at the school. Given the recent increase in power needs at emergency shelter sites, including items such as laptops, cell phones, and medical devices, the situation at the school had to be resolved sooner rather than later.
The option presented was to replace the emergency generators at the school; a $600,000 item that was placed on the Town’s Capital Plan for consideration. In early 2022, a commitment was made to seek alternative options to solve the problem, if they existed. Further evaluation and analysis was conducted based on both the educational and emergency management needs. It was determined that an upgrade to the existing emergency power system would be sufficient. Coincidentally, shortly thereafter, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency offered a highly competitive Emergency Management Planning Grant specifically aimed at providing funds for power improvements at emergency shelters.
Realizing the opportunity, the Hanover Fire and Emergency Management Agency took advantage of this grant program and was successfully awarded the requested $50,000. These funds will allow for wiring and circuitry upgrades at the Hanover High School that will provide sufficient emergency power during sheltering operations. The funds are not intended to make upgrades to the building to provide for complete emergency power during outages and are intended solely to enable emergency management officials the ability to properly operate a shelter for residents if needed. This grant award allows the Town to remove the previous $600,000 item from the Capital Plan and instead complete the work with no direct impact on the taxpayers of Hanover.
Thank you to Hanover Firefighter/Paramedic Tom Duggan for applying for and managing this grant.