Posts Tagged DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program

New engine for Villa Park (more)

Excerpts from MySuburbanLife.com:

It’s been a long time coming, and now the Villa Park Fire Department’s brand new fire engine is ready for duty. The engine was scheduled to begin service Aug. 14, after arriving at the department in early July. The new engine was paid for largely with a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The village was awarded the $432,000 grant in July 2014 … the total cost of the engine was $522,000, so the village contributed about $90,000.

The new engine replaced the village’s 26-year-old engine, which was donated to the University of Illinois’ fire academy for training purposes.

Fire Chief Ron Rakosnik said it was “long overdue,” and after undergoing training on the new engine over the past month, the firemen are very excited to put it into use.

Rakosnik said the new engine has airbags, LED lighting, air conditioning, nicer seating, more compartments and a different pumping mechanism, and it carries paramedic equipment.

This isn’t the first time the fire department has applied for the FEMA grant. They applied in 2012 and didn’t get it. Rakosnik said they reworked the wording in the application and reapplied at the end of 2013.

“We had a lot of equipment that needed to be replaced,” he said. “Now we’re on a schedule to replace our vehicles. We’re replacing our ambulances every nine years and our fire engines every 21 years.”

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Lincolnwood FD receives grant

From the Village of Lincolnwood:

PRESS RELEASE

VILLAGE OF LINCOLNWOOD –6900 N. LINCOLN AVE.–LINCOLNWOOD, IL 60712 PHONE:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 14, 2013

Fire Department Receives Grant Funding

LINCOLNWOOD–Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recently awarded $305,877 in grants to fire departments and municipalities throughout Illinois. The purpose of the funding will help support and improve the capability of the department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies.

The Lincolnwood Fire Department was awarded $105,541 for their grant to purchase new breathing air packs for the firefighters.

“Our nation’s firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America’s citizens,” Durbin said. “As these brave men and women put themselves in harm’s way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today’s grants will help meet that goal.”

The funding is provided through the DHS’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. Since 2001, the AFG has provided approximately $5.25 billion in federal funding to first-responder organizations across the country to help purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, training, and vehicles.

 

Tags: , , , ,