Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Announces a $433,480 Grant to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Located in Emmitsburg, MD
Washington,
Oct 1 -
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-6-MD) today announced that the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Emmitsburg, Maryland is awarded three federal grants totaling $433,480 for initiatives to provide death, disability, and education benefits to eligible survivors. Congressman Bartlett will attend the 29th Annual Memorial Service to Fallen Firefighters in Emmitsburg on Sunday, October 3 at 10:00 am. The names of 80 firefighters who perished in the line of duty during 2009 will be added to the memorial. The memorial and the Foundation are housed on the grounds of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg. More details about the ceremony can be found here: http://www.firehero.org/
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation award will be used for the wide and complex range of evidence required to process and determine claims for benefits according to the federal law and regulations under the Public Safety Officers Benefits Act (PSOB).
Congressman Bartlett said, “With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the addition of 80 new names this weekend to the National Memorial to Fallen Firefighters in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Americans are reminded how first responders’ dangerous and selfless work affects their families and co-workers. Most firefighters in central and western Maryland are volunteers and they are prepared to respond to a terrorist attack or natural disaster in the National Capital Region. The Fallen Firefighters Foundation will use this $433,480 grant to ensure that first responders and their families receive all of the federal taxpayer-paid benefits that they are entitled to in the event that they are injured or killed in the line of duty. This is the very least that we can do to support the selfless protection of us, our families, communities, and our nation by these brave men and women.”
As a result of the grant, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will conduct significant and proactive outreach to public safety agencies nationwide to improve awareness of and access to PSOB benefits. When tragedy strikes, family members and departments of injured and fallen firefighters are often overwhelmed with funeral arrangements and the paperwork involved in filing for federal, state, and other benefits. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will apply its proven expertise and its successful networking and outreach to law enforcement, firefighter, and first responder agencies to access PSOB benefits in addition to providing other support services.
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s web site is http://www.firehero.org/. Additional information is available at FEMA’s web site for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program: http://www.firegrantsupport.com/ and the U.S. Fire Administration’s web site: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fatalities/.
