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Larson, Blumenthal, Murphy Announce Fire Prevent and Safety Grant for BristolBlumenthal, Murphy, Larson Announce Fire Prevent and Safety Grant for Bristol

May 9, 2013

Hartford, CT – Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01),Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced today the award of a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to provide a comprehensive risk assessment for the Bristol Fire Department. The grant program is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

The $18,000 grant will allow the Bristol Fire Department to identify vulnerable local populations and structures, enabling the City to target training and planning to critical areas.

"In Bristol and across Connecticut our first responders sacrifice their safety to shield our neighborhoods from fire related hazards," said Larson. "This grant will help better determine risk throughout the City of Bristol, improving their ability to effectively train our firefighters. I'm pleased to see this funding go to Bristol and know it will be used to help our brave men and woman in uniform prepare for the dangers they face protecting our communities."

"This grant will help provide life-saving information to the Bristol Fire Department, enabling first responders to receive focused training to better assist the City's most vulnerable populations and areas. Seconds can make all the difference when responding to an emergency, and advance training and planning are vital. Connecticut firefighters deserve the best preparation, equipment and training available, and I am pleased that local departments across the state like Bristol have received the federal dollars to do so," Blumenthal said.

"Our firefighters and first responders put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and few things are more important than helping them do their jobs safely," said Murphy. "This grant will help fund the Bristol Fire Department's work to identify where the risks are and what we can do to prevent future fire related tragedies. My thanks goes to FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration for recognizing this need and continuing to fight for these heroes as they fight for us."

"The City of Bristol is fortunate to be awarded these financial resources from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. We are assured that this grant will be used to provide the most pertinent and accurate data to our department. It will add to our record of safety and fire prevention in the City of Bristol," said Bristol Mayor Art Ward.

"The risk assessment will establish years of valuable firefighter training opportunities, equipment purchases and fire department public educational campaigns to address emergency risks," said Bristol Fire Chief Jon Pose.

This is the 17th federal firefighting grant awarded in Connecticut in Fiscal Year 2013. Middletown received $1.14 million to hire eight additional firefighters and Waterbury received $2.9 million to hire new fire recruits through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) and Assistance to Firefighters grant programs administered by FEMA. East Woodstock, Killingly, Plainfield, Willington, Seymour, Middletown, East Hartford, Shelton, Norwalk, Torrington, Southington and Waterbury also received grants to support operations and safety measures.

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Issues:Grants