Lewiston #2 to receive DHS grant

Lewiston Porter Sentinel, December 17, 2005

Lewiston #2 Volunteer Fire Company will receive a $116,447 grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. It marks the first time the fire company has been awarded a DHS grant.

The funding will support operations and safety at Lewiston #2, including training, protective and general equipment procurement, firefighter wellness and fitness, and improvements to fire stations and facilities.

“This funding is about protecting our bravest citizens so that they can better protect us,” said U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-28th District, who announced the funding for the fire company on Dec. 15. “We should be behind our firefighters completely, and getting them grants like these is one critically important way to do it.”

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards one-year grants directly to fire departments to support the nation’s firefighters and the services they deliver. For the 2005 program, Congress appropriated $650 million in direct assistance to firefighters to improve the effectiveness of firefighting operations, firefighter health and safety programs, and to establish or expand fire prevention programs throughout the United States.

“This is Lewiston’s first DHS grant, and we’ll work hard to make sure it’s the first of many,” Slaughter said.