Washington, D.C. - United States Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today announced a $63,227 grant to the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department. The grant is part of the fifteenth round of the Fiscal Year 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.
This grant will help local fire departments purchase firefighting equipment, fund firefighter health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical services programs, and conduct fire education and prevention programs. The grant program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness in cooperation with the Department's United States Fire Administration.
"I whole-heartedly support the critical mission of our firefighters,” said Van Hollen. “These funds will help ensure that our community’s emergency responders have the equipment and training they need to respond to various hazards,” said Van Hollen. “It is important that firefighters continue to have the basic capability they require to do their jobs, improve safety, and save lives.”
On March 1, 2003, the Office for Domestic Preparedness became a part of the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) designated ODP as the principal federal agency responsible for the preparedness of the United States for acts of terrorism, including coordinating preparedness efforts at the Federal level, and working with all State, local, tribal, parish, and private sector emergency response providers on all matters pertaining to combating terrorism, including training, exercises and equipment support. To support this mission, ODP administers a number of programs that provide a wide-array of support to our nation's emergency preparedness and response community. For more information on ODP, please contact the Website at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp.
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security. The mission of the USFA is to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies, through leadership, advocacy, coordination, and support. For more information on USFA, please contact the Website at
http://www.usfa.fema.gov.