Press Release
Congressman McHenry Announces $450,114 Homeland Security Grant to East Lincoln Fire Department in Lincoln CountyU.S. Department of Homeland Security awards SAFER Grant funds to local department
Washington,
September 18, 2019
Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) announced $450,114 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 East Lincoln Fire Department in Lincoln County and comes in the fourth round of this year’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant awards. These grants assist local fire departments by enabling them to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies whenever they may occur. Local departments applied 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 East Lincoln Fire Chief Tim Tench, the grant will fund five full-time firefighter positions, four for the headquarters station and one for the department’s satellite station. “This grant will be a tremendous asset to the East Lincoln Fire Department which protects one of the fastest-growing areas in the Tenth District,” said Congressman McHenry. “Eastern Lincoln County has experienced significant residential and industrial growth in the past decade and the SAFER Grant will allow East Lincoln FD to continue to meet the manpower demands necessary to serve this area.” A panel of fire experts at DHS awards SAFER 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. East Lincoln is one of seven Tenth District departments to receive SAFER funding in the FY 2018 grant cycle with a total of $2,809,167 in SAFER funds having been awarded among those departments. Grants will continue to be announced in weekly rounds throughout the coming months. |