Washington, DC - During a visit two weeks ago to a local Houston Fire Station, Congressman Gene Green (D-Houston) witnessed first-hand the lack of first responder personnel, training, radios, and protective gear needed to save lives. In an effort to ensure Houston has sufficient resources to prepare for a potential terrorist attack, Green sent a letter to Houston area Fire Chiefs of volunteer and professional departments, notifying them of a federal grant program that could prove beneficial to their departments.
The Assistance for Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness. This program helps rural, urban and suburban fire departments throughout the United States to increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations, to improve firefighter health and safety and to establish or expand fire prevention and safety programs.
“Fire departments across the nation are in tremendous need of additional first responder resources to protect their cities from potential terrorist attacks,” said Green. “I recognize that the need is even greater in the Houston area, which is the only city in America to meet all fifteen federal threat criteria for a potential terrorist attack.”
Congress appropriated $750 million for the AFGP in fiscal year 2004. The Department of Homeland Security will be accepting applications for this grant funding from March 1, 2004 to April 2, 2004, at 5:00 pm. The application and program guidance, including a tutorial on the program and a list of Frequently Asked Questions, are accessible from the Office of Domestic Preparedness’ website at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp and the US Fire Administration website at
http://www.usfa.fema.gov. Fire departments with questions regarding the grant program should contact the fire grant help desk at 1-866-274-0960 or at
firegrants@dhs.gov
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