Fire Station Grants: We're still waiting for those Federal fire station grants.
When President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), there was a carrot in the law for fire dpeartments. Over $200 million would go to fire departments for new fire stations or the remodeling of existing fire stations. A number of fire departments in the Arrowhead Region filled out the paperwork and are now waiting to see if they are going to be one of the "lucky ones" to receive a grant.
The first round of grants did come out and so far, not one Minnesota fire department was successful. However, don't give up because more announcements are expected and unless you received a turndown notice, your department is still in the running. The officials at the Department of Homeland Security say they have received a large number of applicants and it has been a real challenge is selecting recipients.
I personally know of several fire departments which are seeking the grants. All of them have great needs. In one case, the fire station is literally falling apart and the building dates back to the horsedrawn apparatus days. In another situation, the fire station is located on a downtown street corner and at the intersection of a very busy highway. Some firefighters have to park nearly a block away from the station because of limited parking. This department is also truly deserving of a grant. And, there isn't a fire station around that isn't packed with apparatus with no room for expansion.
The money set aside for the fire station grant program is really small and the need is very great. My hope is that our lawmakers will see the need for such a program and consider appropriating more money for this very worthwhile project. There is no question that such a program needs to be continued!