RTFD Awarded $22,740 Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Sagnip
Office of Rep. Chris Smith
(202) 225-3765

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Robbinsville Fire Department Awarded $22,740 Grant

Township to receive federal funding to update medical equipment

           
FREEHOLD, N.J. – (May 25, 2017) - The Robbinsville Township Fire Department was awarded a grant in the amount of $22,740 from the Department of Homeland Security through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, announced Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) Thursday.

“The grant will be used to purchase four defibrillators and one CPR device, surely among the most live-saving of equipment that a firefighter can bring to bear in an emergency response,” Smith said. “The grant covers 95 percent of the total cost of the equipment, and will replace older equipment that has become unreliable and in need of repeated repairs. I commend Mayor Fried and Chief Schaffener for proactively seeking these types of life-saving grants year after year. They have been very successful in obtaining this critical equipment which is key to providing fire protection to the community.”

“Robbinsville Township and our Fire Department, led by Chief Daniel Schaffener, is extremely thankful to Congressman Chris Smith and his staff for their assistance and support during the application process,” Mayor Dave Fried said. “Without the direct support of our application and the overall program support of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program by Rep. Smith, the RTFD would be faced with some difficult realities regarding the safety of our firefighters and residents. The benefits of this award for our department and local residents is immeasurable. It gives the RTFD the ability to provide a reliable defibrillator on each of our two engines and each of our two in-service ambulances. Additionally, it allows us to provide an Automatic Chest Compression Device on our primary ambulance. In other words, this grant will save lives.”

A long-time member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, Smith helped create the AFG  grant program in 2000. The aim of the AFG grant program is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and EMS organizations across the country. Since 2001, it has helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

Recent AFG grants to Robbinsville include $111,585 in 2015 used to replace 16 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA’s) needed by firefighters to maintain an adequate air supply when entering dangerous conditions. The department’s existing SCBAs were at the end of their serviceable life and had become a maintenance and safety concern. In 2016 it also won a $13,393 federal grant for a cost-saving health and wellness program intended to result in healthier, more physically fit firefighting forces, which in turn provide cost-savings to towns by reducing sick time, workers’ comp claims and disability.

The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Operations and Safety Grant Program. It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. The purpose of AFG is to award grants directly to fire departments and non-affiliated Emergency Medical Services organizations (EMS) to protect both the health and safety of the public, and first-responder personnel as well. A competitive process overseen by fire service subject matter experts awards grants to applicants whose requests are aligned with the priorities of the AFG Program. For more about the FY 2016 AFG Program please visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

This is round 6 of the competitive FY2016 fire grant announcements.

Congressman Smith, who represents New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District in the House of Representatives, has offices in Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties.  The Mercer County office is located at 4573 South Broad Street, Hamilton. The phone number is (609) 585-7878.

 For the most recent update of this release, visit: http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400339

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