Kaptur Applauds Special $227,000 Federal Award to Sandusky Fire & Rescue Department

Washington, DC — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today announced that the Sandusky Fire Department has secured $227,000 in a competitive grant award for the acquisition of specialized fire equipment to assist and improve the Department’s response to fires and other emergencies with the purchase of 38 self-contained breathing apparatuses and harnesses, 100 self-contained breathing apparatus tanks, and 56 facepieces to replace outdated equipment. The competitive grant was awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, in coordination with the US Fire Administration, and is the twelfth round of grants made to municipalities this fiscal year.

“Congratulations to Fire Chief Dave Degnan and his team with the Sandusky Fire Department. This is quite an accomplishment, especially given the level of competition for such a FEMA grant,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “Thousands of fire departments apply for these funds, and the competition is fierce. The Sandusky Fire Department and Chief Degnan made a clear and convincing case that it this a wise investment and will save lives.”

The Sandusky Fire Department is a full service fire department providing Fire, Advanced Life Support, Basic Life Support and Technical Rescue.

“The Department responds to over 6,000 requests for help annually,” said Sandusky Fire Chief Dave Degnan. “We are honored to have been awarded this grant and the funds will be used to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus to replace outdated equipment. The new equipment will ensure our firefighters can work safely and confidently in dangerous environments.”

Competition for the ‘Assistance to Firefighter Grants’ under the category of operations and safety is considerable, involving many thousands of fire departments nationally, and the grants are commonly awarded in amounts below $100,000.
FEMA is an agency within the federal Department of Homeland Security.

Kaptur is a senior member the House Appropriations Committee, and serves on the subcommittee that funds and has oversight responsibilities for the Department of Homeland Security.

For more information:

Background on the Department of Transportation grant award: https://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant

Toledo Fire and Rescue Department: https://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/fire/generalinfo.htm

An example of an Assistance to Firefighter Grant success story in Erie County: https://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grants-success-stories-erie-county-oh#



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