ASHEVILLE FIRE-RESCUE RECEIVES $96,000 GRANT

The Asheville Fire and Rescue Department has been awarded a $96,000 grant from the 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The grant will cover 80 percent of the cost to purchase up to 30 new mobile radios, which are part of a planned transition to a more reliable digital communications system for Asheville's first responders.

The grant will also benefit the region, explains Asheville Fire Chief Greg Grayson.

"The new radios will have interoperable capabilities. This means that we will be able to communicate with the Asheville Police Department, rescue squads, the NC Highway Patrol, as well as other fire departments across the state," said Chief Grayson. "With the tragedy along the Gulf Coast, we've heard again how important it is for first responders from various agencies to be able to talk to each other."

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program received 20,972 applications for funding from career and volunteer fire departments nationwide and almost 800 applications from North Carolina fire departments. The program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the Department's United States Fire Administration.

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