Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) recently received its second Assistance to Firefighters Grant award in two months.
According to a U.S. Rep Kat Cammack release sent Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded GFR with the $184,111.28 grant, which will go to improve operations and safety. The funds will supplement the $47,122 award GFR received in June.
“I’m glad to see another Assistance to Firefighters Grant awarded here in North Central Florida,” said Cammack in a press release. “Our departments work hard to keep our communities safe and we will continue to support them to ensure they have the resources necessary to do their jobs safely.”
On June 26, GFR received its first AFG award, along with Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR), which received $570,954.
“This is another win for our department, the City’s leadership team, and the community served. Thank you, Congresswoman Cammack, for standing up for the interests of first responders,” said GFR Chief Joseph Dixon in a press release.
On Aug. 15, the Lake City Fire Department received a $208,261 AFG award.
The AFG program administered nearly $320 million in competitive grants in FY 2020.
WHY is so much money coming from the Federal Government as grants to local and regional services?
WHY isn’t the money left locally so it can be apportioned as needed instead of having so many middlemen taking their cut of the taxes?
This is wrong in so many ways. It almost seems like protection money paid to the government instead of taxes.
On another note, why are emergency responders still referred to as ‘first’ responders. ‘First’ responders are people on the scene at the time the event occurred. Emergency responders are those special people who run TO the tragedy or INTO the fire in order to save others. Call them what they are – EMERGENCY RESPONDERS are so much more than just ‘first’ responders.
Or are they called that because it’s just easier and doesn’t take up as much room in an article?
“President” buy votes at every turn. I wonder how City Comm will try to cut out that much of GFD budget to use for something else?