Press Release
Congressman McHenry Announces $33,298 Homeland Security Grant to Broad River Volunteer Fire & Rescue in Buncombe CountyU.S. Department of Homeland Security awards Assistance to Firefighter Grant funds to local department
Washington,
June 10, 2014
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Jeff Butler
(202-225-2576)
Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced $33,298 in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant to a local fire department in the Tenth Congressional District. The grant will go to the Broad River Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department in Buncombe County, and comes in the fifth round of the 2013 fiscal year Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which aims to help firefighters and first responders throughout the country. Local departments applied for the grants, and the program is administered by the Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. According to Broad River Fire Chief Brent Hayner, the grant funds will be used to completely replace the department’s stock of fire hose. The grant will purchase 4000 feet of supply hose and 3000 feet of attack hose. “Having reliable fire suppression equipment is vital to any fire department and this grant will help Broad River Volunteer Fire & Rescue to replace old fire hose that has become worn and outdated,” Congressman McHenry stated. “I commend Chief Hayner and his department for all they do to keep eastern Buncombe County safe. A panel of fire experts at DHS awards AFG grants through a competitive review process. Congressman McHenry hosts workshops for 10th District EMS and fire departments to help guide personnel through the process and give them an inside view of what the committee looks for. The workshops are taught by Cherryville Fire Chief Jeff Cash, a nationally recognized expert in his field and former member of DHS’s AFG review committee. Since Congressman McHenry and Chief Cash began the program, 10th District EMS and fire departments have consistently won more grants than departments in most of North Carolina’s other Congressional Districts. Broad River is the second 10th District department to receive AFG funding during the 2013 cycle. Grants will continue to be announced in rounds weekly through the coming months. |