O’HARA — Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department will receive new compressor and cascade systems thanks to a $31,087 grant from the federal government. Guyasuta, housed along Old Freeport Road near the Fox Chapel Yacht Club, was among two Lower Valley fire departments to receive money in the most recent round of the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Cherry City Volunteer Fire Department in Shaler received $144,962. The money was made available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is aimed at improving equipment, training and infrastructure. In total, 8,000 awards worth $750 million will be doled out to firefighters across the country. The award marks the second year in a row that Guyasuta received federal help. “We’re very fortunate,” Chief Mike Dortenzo said. “It’s the second out of three years that we applied. We must be proving the point that we need the equipment.” Dortenzo said a compressor system purchased in the 1970s will be replaced, along with a cascade system to store high pressure air. “The compressor is leaking and has just failed almost completely,” he said. There are about 25 active members at Guyasuta VFD, which serves the western half of O’Hara from RIDC Park to the yacht club to the top of Powers Run Road. In 2003, the department got $57,600 to purchase self-contained breathing units. At $4,500 each, Dortenzo was able to replace 16 units. Fire companies that receive grants match 10 percent of the total. Dortenzo said the grant program offers vital help to fire departments, many of whose volunteers struggle to raise money for equipment upgrades. “Without this, there’s a bunch of departments that wouldn’t be able to buy the equipment,” he said.

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