The Mower County Mutual Aid Association wants Mower County’s mutual aid.

The association made a presentation to the Mower County Commissioners Tuesday morning for sponsorship of a grant application to FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.

Mark Osmundson, an Adams firefighter and president of the association of nine Mower County fire departments, Dave Pike, Brownsdale fire chief, and Dave Streit, LeRoy firefighter, made the presentation to the commissioners Tuesday morning.

The association wants to upgrade the fire departments’ communication system and add a repeater system.

To do this, it will take a $701,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from FEMA.

The split is 90-percent federal and 10-percent local match.

Osmundson said the communications system’s upgrading is needed for firefighter safety.

“Today, in almost every case, when you have a structure fire, you’re calling for mutual aid right away,” Osmundson told the commissioners. “Because daytime firefighters are at a premium, you need the help from a neighboring department.”

“Firefighters need to be in communications with each other at the scene of a fire and departments need to be in touch, too,” he said.

The recent Jan. 15 structure fire in downtown Austin reaffirmed what Osmundson said.

Immediately after the fire was discovered, mutual aid from Rose Creek, Brownsdale, Blooming Prairie and Albert Lea was requested.

Although there were no injuries among firefighters or building occupants, the mutual aid helped confine the fire from spreading to other downtown Austin buildings.

The firefighters serve departments who have mutual aid agreements to help each other.

The individual efforts at the fire scene were made even more dramatic because of extreme cold weather with wind-chill temperatures falling to 40 degrees below zero.

Not only did firefighters work in tandem to suppress an inferno in near century old buildings, but they battled the worst firefighting weather conditions ever.

Communications with each other and each department was essential.

AFG program

The Mower County Mutual Aid Association’s members — except the LeRoy Fire Department — have all received AFG monies before, so its members are knowledgeable about how the program works and the grant application process.

The primary goal of the AFG program is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. The Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the grants in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. For fiscal year 2005, Congress reauthorized the Assistance to Firefighters Grants for an additional five years through 2010.

According to Osmundson, “That’s why we want to get our application in now. With the economy the way it is, there may not be any federal money for something like this in the future.”

Osmundson also acknowledged the challenges Mower County faces as it deals with the expected impact of the state budget deficit and cuts to be passed down to local governments. “I know it’s a bad time for you,” he told the commissioners.

Ray Tucker, 2nd District county commissioner, is a Dexter volunteer firefighter.

Tucker wanted more information about the county’s role. Especially after county coordinator Craig Oscarson said, “You’re looking at huge cuts coming from the state this year.”

The association’s delegation told the commissioners, the LeRoy Fire Department would be the grant’s administrator, that the AFG application has the support of all fire departments, first responder squads and ambulance services, police departments and the Mower County Sheriff’s Office.

Individual fire chiefs will seek the endorsements of mayors and city councils.

All of the fire departments in Mower County are owned by the cities they serve except the Brownsdale department, which is independent.

Tucker appeared to be convinced the county board should sponsor the grant application. “I realize this is expensive, but I also realize that we can say ‘No’ at any time, too,” he said of the county’s liability for a financial role.

The individual fire departments will be first asked to cover the 10 percent local match from its own reserve funds.

Tucker said, given the county’s challenges to deal with any cost-shifts made by the state, it will have to “squeeze the local match out of somebody.”

Tucker made the motion to have Mower County sponsor the Mutual Aid Association’s AFG application.

Tim Gabrielson, 1st District, seconded it.

The county coordinator suggested the proposal be forwarded to the finance committee to study the impact it could have on Mower County finances if the county is required to pay a share of the local match.

Tucker and Gabrielson agreed.

When all five commissioners voted, it was unanimously approved.

Fifth District commissioner Dave Hillier said, “The grant is a good thing,” but he cautioned, “The pending state shortfall weighs on us.”

More details about the AFG application will be discussed at a meeting of the participating fire departments scheduled 7 p.m. Thursday at LeRoy.

Tucker said he would attend.

If the proposal sounds like a duplication of efforts completed last year to the county’s radio communications system, it isn’t.

According to Osmundson, that upgrade improved communications for Mower County Sheriff’s deputies, local police departments and the Mower County Highway Department.

“This is not a duplication of any of that,” Osmundson said.