Courtney Announces New Federal Support for Eastern Connecticut Fire Stations, Including Long Awaited Award for Clinton Volunteer Fire Department

NORWICH, CT—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded four federal grants totaling $323,875 to eastern Connecticut fire departments in Bolton, Clinton, Glastonbury, and Madison. Each of the new federal awards were dispersed through FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program, and will assist the departments in purchasing essential new equipment, including a new brush firefighting truck, vehicle exhaust removal systems, and more.

"We would like to thank Congressman Courtney and all our Representatives for supporting these grant programs—they are essential for bridging the gaps in our local budgets for specific projects like this one," said Clinton Fire Chief Brian Manware. "We hope that the fire station construction grant program moves forward to become available again as well, after several years. Federal support for our stations and firefighters is important right now, and grant awards like these represent a serious boost to our fire station."

"We are grateful to receive funding from the AFG program to replace fire hose that has failed annual testing or exceeded its usable life. The members of Madison Hose would like to thank Representative Courtney and the members of his staff for the support and assistance to help secure this grant funding," said Chief Robert Kyttle of Madison Hose Co. #1.

"On behalf of the Bolton Volunteer Fire Department and Town of Bolton I would like to express our sincere appreciation for being awarded this AFG grant. This will provide us with a new forestry truck with increased capabilities to replace our current 68 year old vehicle. This will definitely be a benefit to the volunteers and the community we serve," said Fire Chief Bruce Dixon of the Bolton Fire Department.

"This is the kind of federal support that can really help our local fire stations get back to full strength while our towns continue the economic recovery," said Congressman Courtney. "The federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant program is a versatile tool that can be used to purchase everything from lifesaving equipment to important training, and now it's going to help four of our local stations get the vehicles and supplies they need. It's especially great to see the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department receive AFG funding after ten years of effort—these are highly sought after grant awards, and now the funding is going to purchase lifesaving personal rescue equipment for our firefighters in Clinton. In Bolton, the funding will be used to purchase a brand new Brush Firefighting Truck, an important tool for a lot of our rural areas with hard to reach properties that can be susceptible to brushfires. Congratulations to all four of our fire stations in Bolton, Clinton, Glastonbury and Madison on earning these federal grant awards, and thank you for continuing to keep our communities safe and healthy."

The Bolton Volunteer Fire Department will use their AFG grant award of $114,285.71 to support the purchase of a new Brush Firefighting Truck.

The Clinton Volunteer Fire Department will receive an AFG grant award of $21,428.57, and will use it to support the purchase of personal safety/rescue bailout systems. Today's announcement marks the first AFG award that the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department has received in ten years. Following a year in which local municipal budgets took a deep hit due to the pandemic, the AFG award is particularly important.

The Glastonbury Fire Department will use their new AFG grant award of $150,000 to purchase new vehicle exhaust removal systems at four of their fire stations.

Madison Hose Company #1 will receive an AFG grant award of $38,161.54, and will use it to support the purchase of new firefighting hose.

Each of the four grant awards were dispersed through Round 5 of FEMA's competitive FY 2020 AFG program. The AFG grant program is meant to fund critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel, enhance efficiencies and support community resilience. Click here to learn more.

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