Community Development Block Grants were able to cover the costs for a new Bayonne fire engine this month, officials announced this week.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Our job is to make sure that you have updated equipment, and to make sure you can do your job and can go home,” Mayor Jimmy Davis said to firefighters assembled outside the fire house next to City Hall.
The CDBG funds, which come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) were allocated by the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation, prompting Fire Chief Keith Weaver to thank BEOF Executive Director Samantha Howard, Davis, and the city council for supporting the fire department.
The process of acquiring the new fire engine began in September 2022 when Howard advised Weaver that grant funding was available for the fire department. Weaver expressed interest in purchasing a new fire engine.
After receiving the federal funds, the fire department ordered the new engine. Including the new Engine 3, the fire department has purchased other rigs with approximately $1.5 million in federal funds over the past three decades.
During Davis’s administration, which began in 2014, the Bayonne Fire Department has replaced or refurbished seven out of nine of its rigs.
At the ceremony, Weaver also mentioned that the department is in the planning phases for acquiring two new pieces of fire apparatus.
Additionally, Howard received a plaque that declares her an honorary battalion chief in the Bayonne Fire Department, which she said she was proud to be a part of.
