Groton — The once financially troubled Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department has taken advantage of not one, but three new sources of money in the past 12 months — the latest proof, according to Fire Chief Joseph Winski, that the department is going in the right direction.

In mid-2014, Winski explained, finances were so bad that nine firefighters were laid off and the fire district challenged the firefighters' 10-year contract in court.

Since he became chief in December 2014, though, Winski said he's been working with the fire district board to turn that around.

For example, he said, many of the laid off firefighters have since been re-employed, and two contracts — one retroactive, another current — have been successfully negotiated.

Now, a $61,905 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant — the third grant the department has received this year — is further evidence of Poquonnock Bridge's rebound.

The recently announced funding, part of the agency’s Assistance to Firefighters grant program, will help Poquonnock Bridge replace its 31-year-old air-replenishment system, which is used to keep firefighters’ air cylinders full and ready to go.

The old system, Winski explained, is bulky and no longer meets standards set by multiple national organizations.

Winski said the fire district is contributing $3,600 to bring in the air-filling station — a 5 percent match of the grant plus the cost of installation.

“This is fantastic,” he said of the grant, which was awarded to the department last month and presented by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, on Tuesday. “It will certainly put us in the right direction to continue to provide the services we provide well.”

Earlier this year, a combined $2,700 from Wal-Mart and Charter Oak community grants allowed Poquonnock Bridge firefighters to install a new dispatching program, Active 911, on department computers and members' cellphones.

With Winski overseeing, members of the department demonstrated the Active 911 system Wednesday afternoon.

Whenever a call comes in, the app, which functions on desktop and laptop computers as well as on smart phones, sends alerts to those who’ve enabled it.

On their phones, members can hear a noise signaling the alert, learn the address of the potential fire, get directions to it from their current location and zoom in to see what hydrants are in the area.

Firefighters also have the option to click pre-set buttons on their phone screens to say whether they’re responding to the fire or if they’re already at the scene.

Winski said the app — also programmed into the department’s trucks and displayed on a screen facing the apparatus bay floor — allows him to send messages to individual firefighters, as well.

With the remainder of the Wal-Mart and Charter Oak grant money, Poquonnock Bridge officials purchased new protective clothing, including gloves and hoods, and a second thermal heat detector.

The detector, Winski explained, allows firefighters in tough situations to determine where humans or animals might be.

Winski said four individuals deserve primary credit for helping the department obtain all of its new equipment.

First, he said, firefighter and grant writer Evan DeGaetano was instrumental in securing the grants.

He also said Courtney, along with U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, boosted the department’s chance of receiving the FEMA grant by writing letters to FEMA that explained Poquonnock Bridge’s needs.

On Tuesday morning, Courtney swung by the station to congratulate the firefighters on winning the award before boarding a plane to Washington, D.C.

“Joe and the senators should get a lot of recognition for this,” Winski said. “They’ve been very supportive of us.”

 l.boyle@theday.com