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Washington, DC --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today announced that the Belmar Fire Department has been awarded a $565,250 federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) for the acquisition of a new multi-purpose fire truck that includes an aerial ladder. The new truck will replace a 23 year old aerial vehicle that has been plagued with maintenance issues in recent years, as well as the department's oldest pumper/engine in their fleet.
"I commend the Belmar Fire Department for putting together this winning grant application," Pallone said. "At a time when Belmar is seeing the development of large multi-story buildings, the fire department needed a new aerial unit to ensure that its firefighters are armed with the best equipment to protect the community."
"This federal grant is going to allow us to replace two older trucks in our fleet with one, brand new, multi-purpose aerial vehicle," Belmar Mayor Kenneth Pringle said. "The new aerial ladder truck should provide some peace of mind to our residents that the best vehicle to fight fires in larger buildings is now only minutes away from any emergency in Belmar."
The purpose of the AFG program is to award grants directly to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service (EMS) organizations to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel, with respect to fire and fire related hazards. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 AFG provides approximately $490 million in competitive grants to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service (EMS) organizations.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, applications were ranked based on the substance of the applications relative to the established funding priorities for the type of community served. Highest scoring applications were determined to be in the "competitive range" and undergo further evaluation by a panel of peers.
The AFG program has been providing funding to fire departments and other first responders since 2001. Since 2004, AFG has provided a total of almost $2.2 billion to first-responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, and vehicles, and to fund fire prevention activities.
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