WASHINGTON, DC – Through a letter of support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and by hosting a roundtable with local fire officials, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL09) helped secure a $1.4M grant from DHS for Polk County. This grant will be used for staffing of the much needed Poinciana fire station.
“This is great news for the residents of Poinciana,” Congressman Grayson said. “This money will help protect Poinciana, and could very likely save lives. At a time when the Republican leadership of Florida is slicing funds to local governments and organizations, it’s good to be able to get some money from the federal government into local hands.”
The grant comes from DHS’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, part of its Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). DHS’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers the grant program in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. In a March 26 letter to FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate, Congressman Grayson wrote, “The Poinciana community in Polk County, FL is in urgent need of a fire station. The particular neighborhood in need, Village 7, has a population of approximately 30,000 and over 10,000 structures to protect. The nearest fire station is so far away that the Insurance Service Office gave this community a public protection class of 10, the worst possible rating. This grant will fund nine new positions that will help staff a new station in this neighborhood.”
Polk County Commissioner Todd Dantzler, who represents the Poinciana area that will be served by the new fire station, expressed his appreciation to Congressman Grayson and other local elected officials who wrote letters of support for Polk County’s grant application. “We are lucky to live in an area where the men and women who represent us in Congress, like Congressman Alan Grayson, understand the importance of fire safety and will fight to protect our residents,” County Commissioner Dantzler said. “The federal funds that he helped us obtain will let us build and staff a fire station in the Lake Marion area of Poinciana, and hire nine new firefighters.”
This is not the first time Congressman Grayson has aided in securing funding for local firefighters. With Grayson’s help, Orange County was awarded a $6.5 million federal grant in 2014 to fund up to 45 new firefighters. This spring, the Congressman helped secure a $1.1M AGF grant for Orange County Fire Rescue.
