Plattekill awarded Federal grant

(Plattekill) - As part of his ongoing effort to provide firefighters and other emergency responders with the best equipment possible, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) announced that the Plattekill Fire District has been awarded a $47,766 federal grant to purchase a wide array of improved communications equipment

“First responders need to coordinate a response to an emergency while on the run, which makes it absolutely critical that they have the best communications equipment possible,” Hinchey said. “These funds will help replace an insufficient communications system and enable members of the Plattekill Fire District to respond to fires and other emergencies in a much more effective and timely manner. In addition to helping pay for equipment that will help save lives, this federal grant will also spare local taxpayers from the full cost of this gear.”
The grant will pay for new high band communications equipment to replace low band gear that currently makes it difficult for emergency responders to communicate with each other in the area’s hilly terrain. Additionally, the Plattekill Fire District often work with Newburgh fire officials who use high band equipment, thus making it difficult for Plattekill fire officials to communicate using their own low band gear. Specifically, the grant will help pay for 20 handheld radios, two communications base stations, and eight vehicle radios. Plattekill Fire District officials plan to donate the older communications equipment to other first responders who may be in need of such equipment such as emergency officials in the Gulf.

The funds come from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Fire Administration (USFA). As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Hinchey has worked to secure full funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, since its inception in 2001. He has also sponsored a number of workshops across his congressional district to help fire departments with the grant application process. Hinchey is also the author of the SERVE (Supporting Emergency Responders’ Volunteer Efforts) Act, which would provide a $1,000 federal tax credit to individuals who are active members of volunteer firefighting and EMS organizations.