Shrewsbury Fire Co. Gets $85K in Aid

Shrewsbury Hose Company No. 1 is $85,510 richer and able to meet more operational and safety needs.

The fire company is the recipient of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), U.S. senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (both D-NJ) announced this week in a released statement.

The funding, Lautenberg said in a release, aids fire companies throughout the state to participate in critical updated training and purchase equipment necessary to "answer the call and protect the public.” 

The AFG grant money, according to the release, can be used to purchase training and protective equipment, modifications to facilities and supplies, and pay for firefighters' enrollment in fitness programs.

Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which funds the AFG program, explained that “these grants play a vital role in helping our first responders maintain the safety of their residents, and we’ll keep fighting so New Jersey’s firefighters have the resources they need to best serve the public.”

Both Lautenberg and Menendez said they have encouraged fire companies to apply for the grants by holding annual workshops to help teach them how to properly submit applications to garner maximum federal assistance.

In addition to Shrewsbury, the following is a list fire departments and the amount of aid granted them:

• Wood-Ridge Fire Department, $538,650;
• Ridgefield Park Fire Department, $211,375;
• Waterford Township Fire Department in Atco, $141,360;
• City of North Wildwood Fire Department, $110,480;
• Pohatcong Fire Department in Phillipsburg, $57,437;
• Readington Volunteer Fire Company, $43,650;
• Ocean Gate Fire Company, $41,800;
• Nutley Fire Department, $31,275;
• Cologne Volunteer Fire Company in Mays Landing, $13,300;
• Linwood Volunteer Fire Company, $10,023.

For more information about the AFG program, access the website at http://www.fema.gov/firegrants.