South Jersey Gas Announces 2023 First Responders Grant Program Recipients

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, February 13, 2024 – South Jersey Gas is pleased to announce the recipients of the company’s annual First Responders Grant Program. This year, eight grants totaling nearly $40,000 were awarded to local first responder departments.

“At South Jersey Gas, we recognize the vital role first responders play in our communities; providing critical emergency planning and response services for natural disasters and emergencies,” said Brent Schomber, President and COO, South Jersey Gas. “These grants are a token of our appreciation for their tremendous dedication, and we are proud to support the invaluable work they do to keep our customers and communities safe.”

The 2023 First Responders Grant Program recipient departments include:

• Glassboro Police Department
• Hammonton Independent Volunteer Fire Company #2
• Tabernacle Rescue Squad
• Somerdale Fire Department
• Cedarville Fire Company #1
• Galloway Office of Emergency Management
• Wildwood Fire Department
• Washington Fire Company #3

Through the First Responders Grant Program, South Jersey Gas provides critical support to help operations, improve safety measures or provide training at local first responder departments. This year, grants were awarded to first responder departments to support the purchase of critical resources, including first-aid and firefighting gear, fire hose equipment, gas leak detectors and other protective equipment. With applications from first responder departments that serve municipalities across the utility’s service area, South Jersey Gas conducts a thorough and competitive selection process to determine the grant recipients.

“The Galloway Township Office of Emergency Management is responsible for coordinating disaster preparation, response, and recovery in our community,” said Joseph Picardi, Emergency Management Coordinator. “In order to ensure the safety of our damage assessment teams and residents, we utilize gas detection equipment when entering a damaged structure. This allows us to determine the presence of carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide which would necessitate an immediate evacuation and notification of the gas company and fire department. We are very appreciative of this grant opportunity from South Jersey Gas. We are expanding our fleet to a second Office of Emergency Management truck and will utilize these funds to equip this truck with gas detection and thermal imaging equipment.”

“The grant funds that we have received not only aid us in achieving our current objectives of serving the youth in our community but also offer us the chance to expand our horizons and aim higher. We are extremely grateful to South Jersey Gas for selecting us this year," said Chief John Polillo of the Glassboro Police Department.

“It is great to know we have some of the best equipment available to train with and have available if the need arises,” said Chief Brian Barkoff of the Somerdale Fire Department. “This purchase would not have been possible without receiving the 2023 First Responders Grant.”

The First Responders Grant Program will be offered again in Fall 2024. Program information is available on the South Jersey Gas website at southjerseygas.com/community.

For more information about SJI and its subsidiaries, please visit sjindustries.com.