U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C.
 www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm

News

PHMSA 13-06
Wednesday October 18, 2006
Contact: James Wiggins/Joe Delcambre
202-366-4831

New Federal Grants to Help Train Arizona First Responders to Deal with Hazardous Materials Incidents

Police and firefighters in Arizona will be better prepared to deal with hazardous materials incidents thanks to two new federal grants totaling over $343,000, Thomas Barrett, administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), announced today.

Barrett made the announcement during a visit to a fire training facility in Tempe, AZ, where he witnessed a demonstration of firefighter response to a hazardous materials event.

"These funds will help first responders throughout Arizona, including tribal lands, before disaster strikes so they can better protect their communities," said Barrett.

The two separate grants to the state of Arizona and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona were awarded under the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant Program administered by PHMSA. The state received a grant of $183,283 and the Inter Tribal Council received $160,000. The grant program helps the nation’s approximately 4,000 local emergency planning committees prepare and carry out hazardous materials emergency response plans and conduct commodity flow studies that identify transportation hazards. Since 1993, approximately 1.9 million responders and others have received training assistance nationwide as a result of the grant program.

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