Caribou City Council to vote on FEMA grant for fire department

    CARIBOU, Maine — On July 2, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that four Maine fire departments will receive a total of $879,925 in federal grant funding from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). The grants are being administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for fire and rescue departments in Bradley, Madison, Scarborough and Caribou, who will use the grants for vehicle acquisition and operations and safety purposes.
“Our firefighters and first responders risk their lives on a daily basis to help protect and keep us safe,” said Sens. Collins and King in a joint statement. “These funds will help provide them with the resources they need to do their important job”
As per the grant, Caribou Fire and Ambulance will be receiving $332,500 to be allocated for “vehicle acquisition.” Chief Susi of the Caribou Fire Dept. stated on Tuesday that there was not much detail he could go into regarding the grant due to the fact it still needed to be voted on and approved by the City Council.
“We’ve been given a grant from FEMA, but the council has the final say on whether or not we will receive the grant,” said Susi. “We can’t really do much more until after the vote on July 14th.”
The AFG awards, if approved by the council, will be effective July 14. The grants are part of a larger national award for fiscal year 2013 totaling over $38 million. Since the program’s inception, fire departments around the country have received more than $90 million in grant funding.
As Susi mentioned, the Caribou City Council will meet on Monday, July 14 at 7 p.m. to vote on finalizing the grant procedures.