Volunteer fire companies could lose grant funding in NY

By Rick Pfeiffer
The Niagara Gazette

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A federal fire department grant program that has provided more than $800,000 in funding to local volunteer fire departments could be slashed under the terms of a budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The recently approved 2012 House Homeland Security Appropriations bill would slash up to 17 percent of the funding for Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grants and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants.

Those grants fund the purchase of new equipment, training, and the hiring of new firefighters in paid departments and recruitment of new firefighters in volunteer departments.

Full story: Fire grants may cool off for volunteer companies