Rep. Carolyn McCarthy helped secure almost $1 million in staffing grants for the fire departments of Lynbrook and Rockville Centre.
The village of Lynbrook will receive $115,555 for its volunteer fire department through the grants, which were awarded last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program through the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
“We must make sure that our fire departments have the resources they need,” said Rep. McCarthy. “These grants help better ensure the safety and health of my constituents.”
The grants are from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s AFG Program.
Since 2001, the AFG Program has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically-needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. The AFG Program provides grants on a competitive basis to rural, urban, and suburban fire departments throughout the United States.
The SAFER program is a funding initiative designed to strengthen the nation’s ability to respond to fire and-fire related hazards and to improve overall preparedness by enhancing the ability of grantees to attain and maintain 24-hour staffing. The objective of the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters is to create a more favorable working environment for volunteer firefighters by encouraging current volunteers to continue as well as entice new volunteers to join.
“Our fire departments put their lives on the line every day,” Rep. McCarthy. “It is our obligation to make sure that they have the manpower they need to carry out their work.”
For more information on these grant programs, contact Rep. McCarthy’s office at (516) 739-3008.
