Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories

Higgins: Over $417,000 in federal CARES Act funding for City of Buffalo Fire Department

Submitted

Mon, Aug 24th 2020 06:40 pm

Grant supports personal protective equipment

Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, on Monday announced federal funding totaling in $417,245.79 awarded to the City of Buffalo Fire Department for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep firefighters safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higgins said, “Our first responders have been on the frontlines of this pandemic since the very beginning, continuing to do their job, regardless of the additional health risks. This emergency federal aid protects our Buffalo firefighters as they protect our city.”

The BFD will use the award for the purchase of PPE and related supplies during the pandemic. The federal grant will support the purchase of: 1,300 pairs of eye protection, 129 mask filters for respirators, 36 gallons of personal decontaminant, nearly 87,000 gloves, and over 43,000 isolation gowns and respirators.

The funding is awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and approved by Congress in the CARES Act. Congress authorized $100 million in additional federal funding to support first responders and their communities during the ongoing pandemic. This funding supplements a separate $350 million appropriated for the program in 2019.

The AFG program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. A panel of fire and emergency personnel review and approve all applicants seeking federal funding through this program.

Hometown News

View All News