Durbin Announces A More Than $123,000 Investment in Oglesby First-Responder Capabilities
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded a $123,500 grant to the City of Oglesby, in LaSalle County, Illinois. Today’s funding will help support vehicle acquisition at the Oglesby Ambulance Service.
“This federal funding will ensure that when fires or other emergencies occur in our communities, our nation’s firefighters and first-responders have access to the best resources they need to do their jobs well and the equipment needed to help protect them as they protect us,” Durbin said.
The funding is provided through the DHS’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program which seeks to strengthen the Nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and fire related hazards. Since 2001, the AFG has provided approximately $5.25 billion in federal funding to first-responder organizations across the country to help purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, training, and vehicles. The AFG is in the process of awarding approximately $320.9 million in competitive grants to fire departments and non-affiliated EMS organizations from Fiscal Year 2013 AFG funding.