Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced $315,580 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 Mount Mourne Volunteer Fire Department in Iredell County and comes in the sixth round of the FY 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant awards. These grants assist local fire departments to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities to respond to emergencies whenever they may occur. Local departments apply for the grants from the program which is administered by the Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.
Mount Mourne Fire Chief Roger Hoover said the grant funds will be used to fund several volunteer recruitment and retention initiatives. These include physicals, training and new turnout gear for new recruits and an LED sign to be used for volunteer recruitment as well as other community purposes.
“Mount Mourne was the recipient of not only this SAFER Grant, but also an AFG equipment Grant during this funding cycle,” said Congressman McHenry. “That speaks not only to the explosive growth in the response area served by Mount Mourne, but also to the skill of department’s leadership in writing winning grants.”
A panel of fire experts at DHS awards SAFER grants through a competitive review process. Congressman McHenry hosts workshops for Tenth 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 Tenth District fire service professionals.
Mount Mourne is one of two Tenth District departments to receive SAFER funding thus far during the FY 2021 cycle with a total of $492,880 having been awarded among those departments.
Grants will continue to be announced in weekly rounds through the coming months.