| Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that the Elba Township Fire Department has been awarded a $40,500 grant to help fund fire operations and firefighter safety. As part of the Firefighters Grant Program for Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety, the U.S. Fire Administration (a division of FEMA) awarded this grant to the Elba Township Fire Department in order to help fund training activities and purchase new protective firefighter equipment.
“We must continue to provide more funding to ensure the safety and preparedness of those brave men and women who continually risk their lives to protect our lives,” said Kildee. “These funds will enable the Elba Fire Department to pursue new training and wellness programs and to provide them with access to new equipment.”
“The awarding of this grant to Elba Twp. Fire Dept. will allow us to fully implement our rescue squad. We will be using the grant to purchase rescue tools, and other equipment, that will allow us to respond to any type of rescue in our community,” said Elba Fire Chief Mike Burke. “We want to thank our legislators for creating the Firefighter Grant Program, and FEMA for selecting Elba Twp. Fire Dept. as a recipient for this year.”
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is designed as an opportunity for the U.S. Congress to work with Federal Emergency Management Agency to enhance basic fire service delivery across the country. Over 5,000 departments will received over $360 million to support fire protection, EMS delivery, and vehicle purchase and prevention programs in 2002. FEMA received over 19,000 applications this year from fire departments across the country. The Elba Township Fire Department was one of only twenty Michigan fire departments that were fortunate enough to receive funding under this program. The competitive grant was awarded to Elba Township Fire Department after a national peer review process was conducted involving over 300 fire service leaders who evaluated and scored each application. |
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