Smith:Fire Grant Programs Should Benefit Rural Areas As Well

Press Release

Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), ranking member of the House Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, today offered an amendment ensuring rural areas will continue to have adequate access to Department of Homeland Security fire grant programs.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs provide much-needed assistance to fire departments across the nation. The AFG program, which competitively awards funds to local fire departments to purchase emergency response equipment and training, will expire this fiscal year. The SAFER program, which funds the hiring, recruitment, and retention of firefighting personnel, will expire next year.

The House Science and Technology Committee maintains legislative and oversight responsibility for these programs through its jurisdiction over the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974.

Earlier this year Ed Carlin, Training Officer for the Spalding Rural Volunteer Fire Department, offered testimony before Smith's subcommittee regarding the reauthorization of the AFG Program.

"The AFG program is frequently cited as a ‘lifesaver,' and the only means by which many small, rural departments can acquire up-to-date equipment and training for their firefighters. Many communities rely upon all-volunteer departments to respond to fires and other emergencies. These programs have proven absolutely vital for rural and volunteer fire departments which have small tax bases and the least ability to acquire such equipment," Smith said.

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