COLLINS AND SNOWE ANNOUNCE NEARLY $140,000 FOR AUGUSTA FIRE DEPARMENT

Washington, DC -- Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced today that the Augusta Fire Department will receive a $139,776 federal grant under the Department of Homeland Security FIRE Act Grant program.

"The Augusta Fire Department has a unique responsibility to serve and protect our State Capital as well as the residents and businesses of the city," said the senators in a joint statement. "These FIRE grants are important to ensure that our firefighters have the training and resources they need to safely and efficiently protect their communities."

FIRE Act Grants, which are administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), were created with strong endorsement from Senators Snowe and Collins. They aim to increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations, firefighter health and safety programs, Emergency Medical Service programs, and Fire Prevention and Safety programs and to purchase new apparatus.