Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry announced a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant of $55,005 to a local fire department in the Tenth Congressional District.

The grant will go to the Long View Fire Department in Catawba County, and comes in the fifteenth round of this year’s 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 Department’s Preparedness Directorate’s Office of Grants and Training. 

According to Long View Fire officials, the AFG Grant will be used to purchase rescue and extrication equipment to enable the department to become a rescue first-response department in addition to offering fire protection.

“With today’s tough economy, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is absolutely crucial, especially for volunteer departments,” stated Congressman McHenry.  “Barbeques and fundraisers simply aren’t sufficient to cover the costs of the advanced equipment necessary to protect our fire service personnel.  It has been my honor to work closely with fire, rescue and other emergency service providers to help them get the resources they need to protect our communities.”

Last fiscal year, twenty-eight departments in the Tenth Congressional District received AFG funding for a total of $3,138,123 in funds disbursed.  Thus far in this year’s fiscal cycle, $743,690 has been awarded to thirteen departments in the Tenth District.

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