Congressman Dan Kildee Announces Nearly $200,000 in Federal Grants for Mid-Michigan First Responders

Press Release

FLINT-- Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today announced $181,655 in federal grants to be awarded across the district to help provide local firefighters and emergency personnel acquire new equipment and resources.

The federal grant, through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, provides grants directly to fire departments and emergency medical services not affiliated with a hospital to strengthen response capabilities and increase health and safety of the first responders and the communities they serve. The funding will be used to provide firefighters with improved National Fire Protection Association-compliant tools and equipment as well as new state of the art training programs. These funds will also be used to secure new defibrillators for ambulatory staff.

The federal grants will be awarded to:

Northern Bay Ambulance will receive $73,670,

Buena Vista Fire Department will receive $66,666; and

Bay City Department of Public Safety will receive $41,318.

"We are incredibly grateful to our first responders who have been on the frontlines during this pandemic," said Congressman Kildee. "I am grateful to firefighters and emergency first responders across the district for their unwavering service to our community. I am proud to announce this federal grant that will help keep firefighters and emergency personnel safe and better equipped to protect mid-Michigan."

"The Bay City Department of Public Safety is very excited to be selected as an AFG Grant Award Recipient," said Krut Corradi, Fire Chief for the Bay City Department of Public Safety. "This award came at a crucial time when numerous sets of turn out gear were expiring. Receiving this grant will allow us to purchase 18 sets of new turn out gear for our personnel."

"The Buena Vista Fire Department would like to take the time to say thank you to those that support the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program," said Aaron Hoeppner, Buena Vista Fire Department Deputy Chief. "If it were not for this program Buena Vista would not have been able to purchase a new breathing air compressor system to replace our current unit that is over 25 years old. It is programs like the AFG program that help departments purchase critical equipment to keep firefighters safe when performing the jobs we love."

Congressman Kildee has worked to support first responders throughout mid-Michigan. This week, Kildee urged Congress to provide $100 million for local fire departments to replace firefighting foam and gear made with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Additionally, in July 2020, Kildee introduced legislation to ensure that firefighters exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals at military installations get access to needed health care services.

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