SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — South Haven Area Emergency Services, or SHAES, is getting an equipment upgrade.
SHAES received a New Covert Generating Facility grant worth $5,000, according to SHAES firefighter and paramedic Zachary Kenreich.
The New Covert Generating Facility is a natural gas fired, combined-cycle plant in Covert Township, and SHAES would be one of the mutual aid responders in case an emergency requiring confined space rescues happens, according to SHAES.
The $5,000 grant is anticipated to purchase seven sets of harnesses, which can be put on much faster than the department's previous harnesses, according to Kenreich.
Grant funding is also expected to be used to buy seven 200-foot long ropes for the department, according to Kenreich.
The ropes, totaling 1,400 feet, would be used in water rescues, according to SHAES.
Over 100 drownings have been reported in the Great Lakes in 2022, according to the Great Lakes Surf Project, an organization that has been tracking statistics since 2010.
Lake Michigan has seen 43 drownings, the most of the Great Lakes, according to the data.