The fire department is one step closer to replacing 20-year-old rescue equipment after city council Tuesday night accepted a federal grant to fund the purchase of seven new pieces of equipment.

Council accepted a 2018 Assistance to Firefighters Grant, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in the amount of $68,190, that will help buy tools that can extricate people trapped in cars.

The equipment — a spreader, two rams, a cutter, a cribbing set, an air bag kit and a combination tool — will replace tools the department has had for two decades, Butler Fire Chief Chris Switala said.

He added the equipment they have is gasoline-powered, while the newer tools are battery-powered.

This grant is a matching grant, requiring the city to pay $3,409, or 5 percent, of the total project cost of $71,600. Switala said the new equipment allows the department to perform a number of rescues.

Fire emergencies were not the only topic on Tuesday night’s agenda, as council heard a suggestion for police patrols and discussed emergency communications.Resident Bill Criley spoke at the end of the meeting, suggesting that a way to bring back retail stores to Main Street would be to have a police officer patrol the area on foot every few hours.Police Chief Robert O’Neill said that the department had implemented Main Street foot patrols at the beginning of the summer.