CONGRESSMAN WALSH ANNOUNCES FEDERAL FIRE GRANT MONIES TO AREA FIRE DEPARTMENT

$15,941 Awarded to Protect Volunteer Firefighters and Residents

(Washington D.C.)- Rep. James T. Walsh today announced that the Galen-Clyde Joint Fire District in the 25th Congressional District town of Clyde is among the latest recipients of grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The Galen-Clyde Joint Fire District will receive $15,941 as part of Fiscal Year 2007 funding secured by Congressman Walsh. The Department plans to use the funding to purchase new equipment for their Rapid Insertion Team (RIT), a group of firefighters specially trained to rescue other emergency responders that become trapped or endangered while fighting a fire. They will purchase rescue tools and gear, and a thermal imaginer, which will greatly enhance their abilities to operate safely in the hazards and poor-visibility that exist in a fire.

Congressman Walsh is a member of the Congressional Fire Caucus and is an original co-sponsor of the program's authorizing legislation. As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA/HUD and Independent Agencies with former oversight over FEMA, Walsh was directly responsible for funding the FIRE program in its first three fiscal years of existence. In April 2004, Walsh was named the Congressional Fire Services Institute Legislator of the Year for his efforts in preserving the program. To date, $2.2 billion in grant monies have been awarded through the AFG program, including over $6.8 million in grant funding to NY-25 fire departments alone.

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