Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced $93,475 in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant to a local EMS department in the Tenth Congressional District.

The grant will go to Rutherford County EMS and comes in the third round of the 2018 fiscal year Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which aims to help firefighters and first responders throughout the country.  Local departments apply for the grants from the program, which is administered by the Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

According to Rutherford County EMS Supervisor Phillip Hill, the grant funds will be used to purchase LUCAS automatic compression devices to enhance CPR delivery.  The LUCAS device has been shown to improve quality of chest compressions as well as being able to sustain life-saving circulation during prolonged resuscitation attempts.

“EMS grants are some of the most competitive within the AFG program because there is only a small amount of the overall grant funds allocated to EMS,” said Congressman McHenry.  “I commend Rutherford EMS for writing a compelling grant and look forward to visiting the department in the future to congratulate them personally.”

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. 

Rutherford EMS is one of four 10^th District departments to receive AFG funding thus far during the 2018 cycle with a total of $327,434 in AFG funds having been awarded among those departments.

Grants will continue to be announced in weekly rounds through the coming months.