04.04.16

Hoeven Announces $34 Million in Available Funding for Firefighters, Fire Prevention Programs

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program funding opportunity, which totals $34 million. Fire Prevention and Safety grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, which works enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.

“Firefighters put their lives on the line to make sure our communities are safe, and it’s important for us to invest in programs that help to ensure their safety as well,” Hoeven said. “This funding opportunity will help keep our firefighters, as well as the public, safer by supporting fire prevention programs and firefighter safety research and development. This is a great funding opportunity that will help to keep North Dakotans safe, and I encourage interested parties to apply.”

AFG’s Fire Prevention and Safety offers grants to support activities in two categories: (1) those designed to reach high-risk target groups and mitigate incidences of injuries and death resulting from fire and fire-related hazards and (2) research and development activities working to improve firefighter safety.

The application period begins today, April 4, 2016 and closes on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 5 p.m. EST. To access the Notice of Funding Opportunity and other assistance documents, please visitwww.grants.gov and www.fema.gov/firegrants. 

Hoeven serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, which oversees funding for FEMA and other agencies at DHS. In December, the senator announced $306 million in available funding to improve fire safety.

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