Howardwick firefighters receive FEMA grant

Howardwick firefighters will have better equipment and better protection following the approval of a federal grant last week.

The City of Howardwick Volunteer Fire Department was one of 11 Texas communities to receive funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) “2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.”

The grant for $7,398 will be used to purchase breathing equipment, including six air packs, six spare air tanks, a three-bottle cascade system (to allow small air tanks to be filled from bigger ones), and PASS II monitors, which sound an alarm if a firefighter goes down.

This is Howardwick’s third successful FEMA grant in a row, and each was written by the department’s own Theresa Zeyen.

Howardwick Fire Chief Joe Zeyen said his 12-member department was very pleasantly surprised to be approved for the FEMA grant since they had been funded the previous two years.

“We were kind of shocked because we figured this would be a shot in the dark – you know, twice kissed, once ignored,” he said. “But it turned out to be a blessing.”

Last year, Howardwick received funding for new radios, and the year before that FEMA funded the purchase of a pumper truck.

Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response Michael D. Brownsaid  FEMA is awarding 242 grants throughout the United States in the twenty-first round of a program that will ultimately total approximately 7,000 awards worth $750 million.

“In California we have seen the benefits of the suppression efforts made by the nation’s firefighters, and it underscores the importance of putting fire grant funds directly into the communities,” Brown said. “President Bush, Homeland Security, and FEMA are committed to the prevention of all fires as we are to providing preparedness to local firefighters with the critical financial support they need.”

This twenty-first round of grants provides over $14 million to help local fire departments. To date, over 5,400 fire departments have received over $380 million to support their role as first responders in the communities they serve.

Other Texas communities receiving funding in this round were Avery, Orange, Matador, El Paso, Brazos, Wall, Dripping Springs, Beasley, Glenn Heights, and Hutto.