Congressman McHenry Announces $42,858 Homeland Security Grant to Fairview Volunteer

Press Release

Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) announced $42,858 in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant to a local fire department in the Tenth Congressional District.

The grant will go to the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department in Buncombe County, and comes in the sixteenth round of the 2014 fiscal year Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which aims to help firefighters and first responders throughout the country. Local departments applied for the grants, and the program is administered by the Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

According to Fairview Fire Chief Scott Jones, the grant funds will be used to purchase an exhaust ventilation system for the fire station. Fire engines put out a large amount of exhaust and repeated exposure to those fumes can cause health problems over time. The exhaust removal system totally eliminates noxious vehicle fumes before they can be released into the vehicle bays and ultimately the rest of the fire station. The grant will also purchase an air compressor to refill the air packs used by firefighters.

"I want to congratulate Chief Jones and his department on writing this successful grant," commented Congressman McHenry. "I enjoyed visiting the Fairview VFD shortly after Buncombe County became part of the Tenth District a few years ago and I look forward to returning."

A panel of fire experts at DHS awards AFG grants through a competitive review process. Congressman McHenry hosts workshops for Tenth District EMS and fire departments to help guide personnel through the process and give them an inside view of what the committee looks for. The workshops are taught by Cherryville Fire Chief Jeff Cash, a nationally recognized expert in his field and former member of DHS's AFG review committee. Since Congressman McHenry and Chief Cash began the program, Tenth District EMS and fire departments have consistently won more grants than departments in most of North Carolina's other Congressional Districts.

Fairview is one of eight Tenth District departments to receive AFG funding thus far during the 2014 cycle with a total of $1,153,944 in AFG funds having been awarded among those departments.

Grants will continue to be announced in weekly rounds through the coming months.

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