Hilton receives funding
for firefighter assistance programs

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced that the Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) of the Department of Homeland Security has awarded $803,325 in Firefighter Grants to 12 fire departments in New York. The Walker Fire District in Hilton received $34,290 for operations and firefighter safety.

Clinton also received Senate approval of the 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations bill which would provide a total of $750 million in homeland security funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and $100 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) Act for Fiscal Year 2005, which begins October 1.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) awards one-year grants directly to fire departments to support the nation's firefighters and the services they deliver. The AFGP is administered by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and assists rural, urban and suburban fire departments throughout the United States.

The grants awarded will be funded under the Operations and Firefighter Safety Program and Firefighting Vehicles Acquisition Program. The Operations and Firefighter Safety Program provides funding for training, equipment, personal protective equipment, wellness and fitness and modifications to fire stations and facilities.