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Tonko Announces Fire Prevention & Safety Grant for Town of Colonie

Federal funds to provide Town of Colonie with specialized safety equipment for fire investigations

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COLONIE, NY — Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced today that the Town of Colonie has received a federal Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) grant as part of the Fiscal Year 2021 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program. In this round of funding, the Town of Colonie and its Fire Services Division will receive $12,100.10 toward the purchase of specialized equipment to keep their Fire Investigations Unit safe during investigations.

“We in our Capital Region are fortunate to have such hardworking local firefighters who risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe, and we owe it to these brave men and women to provide them with the training, equipment, and other resources they need to continue to do their work safely,” Congressman Tonko said. “I’m proud to help deliver these federal funds that strengthen our local fire departments, and I’ll continue to work to make certain that all of our first responders have the resources and the protection they need to continue serving our communities.”

“We are very excited to be awarded a $12,000 Fire Prevention & Safety Grant,” said Benjamin Stevens, Senior Fire Protection Specialist at Town of Colonie Fire Services. “The grant will provide the members of our office with protective gear and a decontamination kit. Both of these will be used to protect our members during fire and arson investigations to help reduce the risk of cancer. The remaining funds will allow us to purchase additional tools to be used during investigations.”

Each year, Congressman Tonko and his staff assist numerous local fire departments and municipalities in preparing their applications for these critical grants. Today’s announcement marks the seventh round of competitive Fire Prevention & Safety Grant Awards from the FY 2021 AFG program, with previous rounds of AFG funding delivering a total of $1,720,951.26 for fire departments in Albany, Burnt Hills, Glenville, North Greenbush, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, South Glens Falls, and Troy.

The FY 2021 AFG program will award an unprecedented $414 million in competitive grants to fire departments, non-affiliated EMS organizations, and state fire training academies. This includes an additional $100 million for the AFG program provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

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