AFG's 20th Anniversary Celebrated at NJ Fire HQ

The 20th anniversary of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant federal program was celebrated at a New Jersey fire station Monday.

“Supporting our nation’s fire services has been my mission since I was first elected to the Congress," Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) said during an event at Paterson Fire Department's that are named after the lawmaker. "In October 2000, President Clinton signed my FIRE Act into law and the AFG program was born. Since then, I’m proud to say this program has awarded over $9 billion to equip and train our local fire departments."

The event was attended by chiefs and firefighters from around the state. New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association President Ed Donnelly, Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey Vice President of Legislative Affairs Anthony Tarantino, Elmwood Park Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Bruce and Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott also were in attendance.

In its two decades of existence, the program has awarded more than 79,000 grants to individual recipients. Some of the success stories include funding for the UL Fire Safety Research Institute's large-scale experiments to study residential fire dynamics and improve firefighting tactics and the Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study's project examining how to minimize the risk of carcinogenic smoke and chemicals exposure to firefighters.

"The PFANJ was honored to be on hand today in Paterson with Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the FIRE Act into law," the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey stated in an online update.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program provides direct support to fire departments around the country to help them meet the demanding and evolving fire service. The program is run by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Go to FEMA's website to find out more about the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.