NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) today announced that the North Plainfield Fire Department received a $460,578 federal security grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, the grant would allow the department to hire 4 firefighters.

Lance made the announcement at a news conference at the North Plainfield Fire Department with Fire Chief William Eaton, community leaders and other officials from the fire department. Lance said the federal grant funds would help underwrite the cost to allow the department to hire 4 personnel for two years.

“North Plainfield firefighters work hard to keep our community safe and sometimes that means putting themselves in harms way,” said Lance. “This important federal grant will ensure the department has enough men to safely respond to emergency calls and it will enhance service and improve responses to the community.”

Chief Eaton said the grant will allow the department to maintain a staffing level of four firefighters on our initial response to fires, which is the minimally safe level as recognized by national standards.

“Previous to this grant, we responded to fires with a minimum of only 3 firefighters, which is not only unsafe, but goes against current law with regard to “2 in/2 out”,” said Eaton. “The extra firefighter per shift directly correlates to the safety and protection of the citizens in North Plainfield and the safety of the firefighters as well. We would not otherwise be able to meet this minimum standard without the grant funding. Due to similar budget constraints across the State of New Jersey, we were facing a serious staffing shortfall and possible layoffs. Therefore, the impact of this grant is huge for our department.”

Earlier this year, Lance held his annual workshop for Seventh Congressional District first responders and local town officials to learn about the availability of federal security funding and he regularly assists local officials in applying for the funds.


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