Arkansas, Louisiana & New Mexico Receive More Than $2.4 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

DENTON, Texas — Fire departments in Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico have been awarded more than $2.4 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In Arkansas, the grants total $413,524 and cover firefighting equipment for the Lake Village Fire Department and the Lone Rock Volunteer Fire Department in Norfork.

In Louisiana, the grants total more than $1.8 million and pay for:

•    Firefighting equipment for the Church Point Volunteer Fire Department, the Forest Volunteer Fire Department in Oak Grove, the Plaucheville Volunteer Fire Department and the West Baton Rouge Fire District 1 in Port Allen; and
•    The hiring of 17 firefighters because of attrition for the Shreveport Fire Department.

The grant in New Mexico totals $169,000 and pays for tuition and educational assistance plus several other programs for the Mayhill Volunteer Fire Department.

The federal grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program. SAFER awards provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase the number of trained, front line firefighters available in their communities. For more information on the SAFER Grant program, visit http://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants.

The primary goal of the AFG is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders get critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. For more information on the AFG program, visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.  Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.