HICKORY – Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced $1,777,320 in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant to local fire departments in the Tenth Congressional District.

The City of Hickory Fire Department in Catawba County is the host department for the grant that comes in the tenth round of this year’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG).  The AFG Program 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. 

Hickory Fire Chief Fred Hollar indicated that the grant will be used to purchase 800 megahertz radios for all fire and rescue departments located in Catawba County.  “The City of Hickory is proud to take the lead in the administration of this grant to enhance radio communications throughout Catawba County,” stated Chief Hollar. “The regional grant will ensure direct communication with all police, fire, the sheriff’s department, and all EMS and rescue agencies countywide.  All agencies will now have the ability to purchase much needed 800 MHz radio equipment, which will be utilized to communicate during multi-agency emergencies.  After years of realizing our communication shortfalls, we will now be able to close the gap.”  Chief Hollar concluded, “We thank Congressman McHenry for his advocacy on behalf of the fire service.”

“I have visited nearly every fire department in Catawba County during my Congressional service and the county is blessed with some of the best-trained and most dedicated fire service professionals in North Carolina,” said Congressman McHenry.  “The technology upgrades that will be made possible by this grant will allow Catawba County fire departments to vastly improve their communications and will mean better coordination each time a call is run.  I particularly commend the Hickory Fire Department for serving as the host agency for this grant.”

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.  

The $1,777,320 AFG grant is the largest ever awarded in the 10^th Congressional District. Thus far in the 2013 funding cycle, $1,913,218 has been awarded to 10th District departments.

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

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