A special thank you to the Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway who agreed to serve as the regional host for this grant application process and will be accepting the grant. This regional grant brings direct capital purchase dollars to 10 volunteer fire and EMS departments, as well as the Division of Emergency Services.
“On behalf of the entire Board of County Commissioners for Washington County, MD, I extend our appreciation to the Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway for your efforts to assist our County in obtaining a second FEMA Grant Award,” stated Board of County Commissioners President Jeffrey A. Cline. “This second grant will help in providing critical upgrades to equipment needed for firefighters across the County. With the recent awards of the SAFER and AFG grants, our fire and EMS responders are being setup for success over the next several years to serve the residents of Washington County.”
The AFG Grant Award to Washington County, MD will total $1,675,272.00 and represents 90% of the purchase cost for firefighter self-contained breathing apparatus. This regional grant brings direct capital purchase dollars to 10 volunteer fire and EMS departments as well as the Division of Emergency Services. There is a 10% match requirement for this grant and each company is responsible for that portion of the grant relative to the awarded amount.
- Halfway Fire: $129,600
- Boonsboro Fire: $181,440
- Hancock Fire: $123,120
- Maugansville Fire: $129,600
- Potomac Valley: $ 90,720
- Williamsport Fire: $155,520
- Fairplay Fire: $ 97,200
- Boonsboro EMS: $ 84,240
- Community Rescue: $123,120
- Hancock EMS: $ 64,800
- Division of Emergency Services: $116,640
“We are very excited to learn of today’s announcement of the successful award of $1,675,272.00 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) to the Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway. The grant application was a collaborative effort between the Division of Emergency Services, the Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway and 9 other fire and EMS departments within Washington County. The grant award brings about much needed financial assistance to 10 fire and EMS departments as well as Washington County Government, ” stated Washington County Division of Emergency Services Director R. David Hays.
The total grant investment awarded to Washington County in the last 2 weeks through the FEMA program is approximately $9.7 million. As the recipient of two FEMA grants, this significantly aides the County’s and volunteer fire/EMS departments budgets as we continue to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
