PRESS RELEASE
TOLEDO, Ohio – During National Fire Prevention Week, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), a senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee and of the House Fire Caucus, announced $3,052,523 in critical federal funding she helped to secure. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs will award nine fire departments across northwest Ohio new funding to ensure that first responders have the resources and manpower they need to protect local communities. These awards will provide essential funding for equipment, protective gear, vehicle acquisition, hiring, and training, enabling fire department to respond more effectively to emergencies and keep both the public and our emergency personnel safe.
The nine fire departments in northwest Ohio receiving AFG and SAFER funding are:
- Village of Sherwood Volunteer Fire Department – $75,428
- The AFG funds will help the Village of Sherwood Volunteer Fire Department in Defiance County to afford operations and safety improvements, including the purchase of eight new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA) and replace outdated ones.
- City of Wauseon Fire Department – $53,522
- The AFG funds will allow the City of Wauseon in Fulton County to purchase a Three Drop Source Capture Exhaust System that will help ensure all Fire Apparatus can utilize the system when parked in the bay. This will minimize their staff’s exposure to cancer causing exhaust contaminants. The City of Wauseon share of the cost is $2,676.14.
- Village of Whitehouse Fire Department – $294,214
- The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Whitehouse in Lucas County to upgrade operations and safety with new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA).
- City of Vermilion Volunteer Fire Department– $302,182
- The AFG funds will be used by the City of Vermillion in Erie County to upgrade operations and safety by replacing outdated air packs for firefighters to better and more safely protect residents
- Village of Kelleys Island Volunteer Fire Department – $75,361
- The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Kelleys Island in Erie County for operations and equipment, and will replace aged firehose, handline nozzles, and an additional ground monitor. This equipment will not only be an upgrade, but it will be major upgrades that meet current standards replacing outdated hoses that are 20-30 years old, many of which were donated by other fire departments.
- City of Huron Fire Department – $135,523
- The AFG funds will be used by the City of Huron in Erie County to replace bunker gear for the entire department. This will ensure the department is compliant with safety and equipment upgrades.
- Monclova Township Fire Department – $1,013,046
- The SAFER funds will be used by Monclova Township in Lucas County for the hiring of additional full-time firefighters for their department, including wages and benefits.
- Village of Oak Harbor, Portage Fire District – $163,428
- The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Oak Harbor in Ottawa County for operations and safety improvements and upgrades, including the replacement of soon to be outdated Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA).
- City of Northwood Fire Department – $939,819
- The SAFER funds will be used by the City of Northwood in Wood County for the hiring of 3 additional full-time firefighters for their department, including wages and benefits.
“Our firefighters and first responders are the ones on the frontlines, running toward danger when others are running in the other direction. They deserve nothing less than the best tools and training to stay safe while protecting our communities,” said Congresswoman Kaptur (OH-09). “This funding will give them exactly that — critical gear, better pay, new vehicles, and equipment upgrades to better protect them as they respond to emergencies and safeguard lives across Northwest Ohio.”
“With the purchase of the SCBA’s this promotes safety for the public and especially for our firefighters by getting equipment we could not afford to replace. SCBA’s are one of the most essential tools of personal protection for the fire rescue personnel, and will allow them to operate more efficiently,” said Village of Sherwood Fire Chief Darrel Rock.
“This additional Three Drop Source Capture System ensures that all Wauseon Fire Apparatus can utilize the system when parked in the apparatus bay, therefore, minimizing the exposure our staff have to cancer causing exhaust contaminants. It is important that when our staff come to work, they are provided with a work environment that minimizes any negative exposure that could harm them or be taken home to their families,” said Wauseon Fire Chief Phil Kessler. “The Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program is extremely important to fire departments across the nation. These funds allow us to invest in our staff, the infrastructure and most importantly the community. Most departments would not be able to procure many of these much-needed items.”
“The Assistance to Firefighters Grant significantly benefits The Village of Whitehouse by providing funds to upgrade Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses. This upgrade will impact Whitehouse and surrounding areas by improving Firefighter Safety, embracing new technology, and ensuring operational readiness including mutual aid responses,” said Whitehouse Fire Chief Jason Francis. “As funding is challenging for some communities, this award allows us to replace our outdated equipment that would have been challenging based on our current financial situation.”
“Congresswoman Kaptur’s FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $302,182 for the City of Vermilion Volunteer Fire Department was a true game changer for our community,” said Vermillion Mayor Jim Forthofer. “It allows us to replace the outdated air packs to protect our firefighters as they protect our residents. It also releases funds back to the general community for other worthy purposes. Congresswoman Kaptur is a real friend of Vermilion, especially its first responders”
“Absolutely, we were very fortunate to receive the funding and it is a financial game-changer for the City,” said Vermillion Fire Chief William H. Brown.
“First of all, I must express our appreciation of this award from not only from our fire department but also our community as a whole. Our community presents itself with unique fire suppression challenges,” said Kelleys Island Assistant Fire Chief Charles Ehrbar. “We are on Kelleys Island on Lake Erie with a little over 120 year-round residences but our summertime population can near 5,000. We have a roster of only 17 volunteer firefighters. The area of the island is approximately 2 miles by 4 miles. We are now experiencing an influx of new builds of larger and taller residential and commercial structures. Being on an island that is accessed only by ferry and aircraft, in the event of a fire incident, our mutual aid is at best one and a half hours for response, if they can respond at all. That being said, we are on our own and must make the best of any situation. This new and updated equipment gives us an advantage of technology and dependability that we certainly did not have prior to this award.”
“This grant has allowed us to continue serving the citizens and businesses of our service area along with assisting other surrounding fire departments,” said Portage Fire Chief Antonio Hand.
These new funding announcements follow a $671,428 award for Ney-Washington Township in August 2024, a $952,380 award to the City of Defiance in July 2023, and a $110,014.28 award to the City of Wauseon in June 2023 all secured through FEMA’s AFG program.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, established in 2001, provides funding to meet the needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. AFG awards are designed to help these agencies obtain the necessary resources to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire-related hazards. In fiscal year 2023 alone, FEMA distributed 1,616 AFG awards, totaling $289.2 million.
