DETROIT, MI – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) announced $1,670,107 in federal funding has been awarded to seven fire departments in Michigan to purchase new tools and safety equipment including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Self Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA) used by first responders to breathe in hazardous environments. This funding comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program. Departments in the following municipalities were awarded funding:
· City of Brighton: $45,273
· Burlington Township: $49,476
· Cambridge Township: $47,086
· City of Jackson: $174,091
· City of Jonesville: $420,000
· Village of Tekonsha: $429,545
· City of Wyandotte: $504,636
“Firefighters put their health and safety at risk day-in and day-out and must have the resources needed to do their jobs safely and effectively,” said Senator Peters, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “I’m pleased to announce these grants, which will provide fire departments in Michigan with critical safety equipment to ensure their first responders can continue protecting families in their communities.”
“Our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our families, homes, and communities,” said Senator Stabenow. “These new resources will help keep the public safe and give our first responders the equipment they need to do their jobs more safely and effectively.”
“We greatly appreciate the support of Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow for continued funding for these FEMA grants,” said David Wooden, Deputy Fire Chief, Jackson Fire Department. “These funds will allow the Jackson Fire Department to replace our existing self-contained breathing apparatus and greatly improve the safety of our firefighters.”
“The Cambridge Township Fire would like to thank Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow for helping make this grant possible,” said Jeff Armstrong, Assistant Fire Chief of Cambridge Township Fire Department. “As with all fire Departments, funding is getting tighter and the cost of operations is increasing, the grants make it possible to purchase tools that would not happen without the grant. Cambridge Fire plans on purchasing battery powered rescue tools (Jaws of Life) — our current ones are over 20 years old and need to be replaced. The new tools will be a great improvement over our current tools. Thanks to all that helped in the grant process and to Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow for their involvement.”
“We appreciate the support for public safety from Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow,” said Daniel Wright, Wyandotte Fire Chief. “This important funding comes from a collaborative effort between multiple municipal fire departments in our area —Wyandotte, Lincoln Park, Southgate, Allen Park, Brownstown, Grosse Ile and Harper Woods — to acquire new Self Contained Breathing Apparatuses. This equipment is essential to our firefighters, as it allows them to breathe and work in hazardous environments like structure fires and hazardous materials incidents. These funds will help us provide our first responders with the best equipment available today, enabling them to more efficiently and safely serve the citizens in our communities during the most critical moments, as well as work more effectively with our partner agencies on larger scale emergencies.”
More information about these grants can be found at: https://www.fema.gov/grants/
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