09/19/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/19/2024 10:06
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes (all D-Md.) announced $931,896.84 in federal funding to support Maryland firefighters and first responders in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Howard Counties. The funding will enhance emergency response capabilities through personnel recruitment and equipment upgrades, ensuring better protection for the public, firefighters, and other first responders.
"Maryland's firefighters and first responders run towards danger every day to protect us, and we need to have their backs. This federal funding will help ensure our local fire departments have the resources and support they need to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies in our communities," said the lawmakers.
The federal grants have been awarded as follows:
The awards are provided through the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, and Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S) program with funds from FY2023 annual appropriations that the lawmakers fought to secure. The lawmakers additionally worked to reauthorize the AFG, SAFER, and FP&S programs through FY2028 within the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, which passed Congress and was signed into law earlier this year.
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