LAWRENCE – The Lawrence Fire Department will receive $1,181,222.00 from the federal government to be used to hire new firefighters and purchase new equipment and training.
The grant comes to the city from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program and the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.
“This is great news for the City of Lawrence, its citizens and the firefighters who day in and day out risk their lives to protect this community,” said Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty.
“This administration has shown that it is very much interested in improving the safety of this community and this is another great tool to accomplish that task. Congresswoman Tsongas and Senators Warren and Markey, along with those in FEMA all understand the importance of firefighter staffing and how it reflects in firefighter safety and mission accomplishment. I am extremely grateful to the hard work of all involved in this grant and thankful that we are now another step closer to meeting the requirements of NFPA Standard 1710 Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations to the public by Career Fire Departments.”
“Public safety has been, and continues to be a top priority for the City of Lawrence,” said Mayor Daniel Rivera.
“I want to thank Congresswoman Tsongas as well as U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey for their support on this grant application. I also want to thank FEMA for awarding this grant money to Lawrence. They can rest assured knowing that we are going to put this money to good use to Make Lawrence Safe.”
Congressman Niki Tsongas said that the Lawrence Fire Department received the needed federal funds through a competitive grant process, which speaks to both the quality of their application and the fire department in general. “Given the constraints on state and local budgets, competitive grant funds such as these help to maintain public safety in our communities and provide first responders with access to the resources they need to save lives. Our volunteer and career firefighters sacrifice a great deal to protect our communities and it is our duty to provide them with the equipment and training they need to keep their departments running safely and efficiently.”