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Posted: Sunday, 13 September 2009 9:30AM
Durbin announces $750,000 grant to Chicago Fire
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced Wednesday that the United States Fire Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security, has awarded a $779,520 grant to the Chicago Fire Department.
The funding is provided through the DHS's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which seeks to strengthen the Nation's overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and fire related hazards, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.
"Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens," Durbin said. "As these brave men and women put themselves in harms way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today's grant will go a long way toward meeting that goal."
Since 2001, AFG has provided a total of almost $4.3 billion to first-responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment and vehicles, the release said.
In addition to the federal funds, each department must provide some portion of the funding on its own, the release said. The cost sharing is based on department size, with larger fire departments bearing a larger share of the program costs. Departments serving more than 50,000 residents share 20 percent of the total program costs.
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