Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) announced over $3 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funding to support Northern Nevada fire departments. This funding will be used to purchase new vehicles, protective gear and safety equipment, as well as to support the training and hiring of additional firefighters in Northern Nevada.
“Nevada’s brave firefighters are on the front lines keeping our communities safe every day. We need to ensure they have the personnel, equipment and supplies they need to do their jobs effectively and safely. We’ll continue to fight for our local fire departments and ensure that Nevada receives its fair share of wildfire and disaster relief funding.”
BACKGROUND:
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association.
The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.
The grant funds will be awarded as follows:
- $1,852,471.60 in SAFER grant funding to the City of Reno to hire firefighters.
- $1,153,837.60 in SAFER grant funding to the East Fork Fire Protection District in Minden to hire firefighters.
- $327,480.95 in AFG grant funding to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to support fire operations and safety.
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