FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 28, 2004

LARSON ANNOUNCES $255,000 FEDERAL HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT FOR NEWINGTON

NEWINGTON- U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-1) today announced that the Town of Newington's volunteer fire department has been awarded a $255,000 federal grant to improve firefighter safety equipment. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded the grant, which will allow the town's fire department to upgrade Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for firefighters. The equipment is critical to increasing firefighter safety both on the scene and in training operations and allows increased communication and maneuverability.

"The Newington fire department has wanted to upgrade this equipment for some time both to protect their firefighters and meet national firefighter safety standards," said Larson. "This funding will give the department the opportunity to meet that goal so they can best serve the community and minimize the danger to their volunteers."

"We are very excited about this grant and I am grateful that we were able to work with Congressman Larson's office to secure the funding," said Newington Mayor Tom McBride. "This means a lot to the fire service in Newington and to the people they serve."

The funding for Newington was part of a total of nearly $90 million that was awarded by the Department of Homeland Security today. In March, Congressman Larson wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security urging that the funding be awarded to Newington.

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