Politics & Government

Forked River Fire Department Receives Additional Federal Funding

Forked River Fire Department to receive over 160k in federal funding

The Forked River Fire Department will receive $163,297 in federal funding through two Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grants.

“The grant couldn’t come at a better time. The town’s hurting for money. And I have been putting the budget in for a few years. This is saving the taxpayers a lot of money. The town would have to go out and bond for this money," Chief Kevin Flynn said.

The latest grant, which was announced today by Congressman Jon Runyan (R-N.J.), amounts to $48,600 and has the lifetime of three years and does not require a ten percent municipal match.

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About a year ago, emergency services were asked by the town to purse as many grants as possible, Andy Castellani, Executive Officer and one of the grant writers said.

“We’re in very, very difficult economic times and I just want the public to know that our staff and emergency services are stepping up to the plate trying to do everything they can to try to lessen the impact on the taxpayers by sources of revenue elsewhere,” Mayor Gary Quinn said.

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This grant will be used for four sets of turnoff gear, marketing, and recruiting.

Castellani developed a recruiting program to apply for the grant, which is two-fold. The first part of it is geared towards the career department for hiring or to prevent layoffs.

There is also a volunteer component for recruitment and for volunteer firefighters. There would be a junior recruitment program through marketing to bring on new members.

The Forked River Fire Department has approximately 60 members and at least 60 percent are over 35 years old, Castellani said.

“Our membership is an aging membership which is not a problem. We still have guys that are very active but this is more for the future of the department,” Castellani said.

The junior recruitment program would be for young people who are interested in getting acclimated to what the fire department and volunteering is all about. The junior recruits would not be involved in the operational end of the fire department.

“The idea behind that is if we catch them early enough and they get an interest in it, then when they become 18, they decide to become members of the fire department or even pursue a career in the fire service,” Castellani said.

The grant would provide supplies for marketing and equipment needed for the program.

This is the second grant the fire department was awarded since last month.

In February, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced that the Forked River Fire Department would be receiving $114,597 in federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistant to Firefighters Grant (AFG).

The money from the grant requires a ten percent municipal match and can be invested in staffing, vehicle acquisition, training, equipment, personal protective equipment, health programs, and other support for stations and facilities.

It will primarily be used for turnout gear and airpacks, Castellani said.

“I really want to thank all the grant writers because years ago when we started talking about that we knew we had to take advantage of the grants and they did that,” Committeeman Dave Most said. “It was due to their initiative and their success that they worked hard writing those grants and were very successful at it. $160,000 is a lot of money to our community and it’s important that they have the right gear.”

For more information on this grant, read “.”


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