Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry announced the awarding of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant in the amount of $217,500 to a local fire department in the Tenth Congressional District.

The grant will go to the Cliffside Area Volunteer Fire Department in Rutherford County, and comes in the ninth round of this year’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant awards.  SAFER Grants assist local fire departments to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities in order to better respond to emergencies situations.  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. 

This is the second Homeland Security fire grant that Cliffside Area VFD has received in this year’s funding cycle.  On July 2nd of last year, the department received an operations and equipment grant under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for $81,852.  While departments may apply for both grant programs in the same funding cycle, it is rare for two grants to be funded in the same year.

“This speaks to the strength of their applications,” said Congressman McHenry.  The Congressman continued, “I look forward to returning to Cliffside to make a formal presentation for this grant and the grant they received in July.  Both are well deserved for a department that serves its community with professionalism and dedication.”

According to Jimmy Mason, Cliffside VFD Treasurer, the funds will be used to start a reimbursement program to pay volunteers a stipend for each fire call run helping to defray the cost of gas and other costs incurred out of the volunteers’ own expenses.  “With the rising costs of gas last year along with training and equipment costs, being a volunteer firefighter is requiring more and more money,” commented Congressman McHenry.  “This program will ultimately serve as a recruitment tool for new volunteers and will help to enable those who are already active volunteers to continue serving at less personal cost.”   

“Having a strong and growing group of volunteers is important for this community,” commented Mason.  “This program this grant helps establish will be an enormous recruitment tool for us.” 

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