MIKULSKI, CARDIN ANNOUNCE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT IN SOMERSET COUNTY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced the Deal Island-Chance Volunteer Fire Department won $38,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program to purchase firefighting equipment. As a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Mikulski fights each year to increase federal funding for the fire grants program. Senator Cardin is a member of the Finance and Budget committees.

“I know how important this funding is to Maryland communities – often it’s the difference between life and death. First responders protect our homes and communities, and the federal government has a responsibility to protect them by providing them with the tools they need to do their jobs safer and smarter,” Senator Mikulski said. “Every day when our first responders report for duty, they don’t know what they will face. That’s why I fight every year for the equipment, training, and staffing our protectors and communities deserve.”

“Now more than ever, we need to make sure that our first responders have the resources they need to protect our families and communities,” Senator Cardin said. “From fires to natural disasters to possible terrorist threats, these brave men and women put their lives on the line for all of us.  Federal investment in our first responders is vital because we must ensure that they have the equipment and training they need to protect us from harm and to perform their jobs safely and efficiently.”

The grant funds will allow Deal Island-Chance Volunteer Fire Department to purchase an emergency generator and a cascade air compressor, used to refill the air tanks firefighters use to breathe inside burning buildings. For more information about the award, please contact Donald Ford at 410-784-2612.

AFGP grants fund firefighting equipment, personal protection equipment, training, firefighting vehicles, firefighter/first responder safety projects, and staffing recruitment and retention, as well as public fire safety education.

Since 2001, Maryland fire departments and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) units have received more than $93 million in AFGP funding, more than $1 million of which has gone to fire departments and EMS units in Somerset County.