Fire Department Gets Second Federal Grant

EAST HAVEN, CT —Saying public safety is a priority, Mayor Joseph A. Carfora and East Haven Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli announced the town has received another federal firefighters grant, this time $65,000.

This is the department’s second award in as many weeks, last week the department was notified they would receive $68,819.53 under a similar program for COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment. The 2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) is a funding opportunity under the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is a competitive grant that is electronically scored, and then peer reviewed before moving onto funding.

The funding will be used to replace 2 aging Medtronic Lifepak Cardiac Defibrillators which Marcarelli said are the most utilized tool in the Fire Department Paramedics arsenal used about 4,000 times per year.

“Public Safety has been and will continue to be a priority for my administration, for the first time in 40 years we will be seeing an increase in staffing in both police and fire departments, at the same time I have encouraged department heads to seek innovative ways to seek funding for their departments to lessen the burden on the average taxpayer," Carfora said. "These grants are extremely competitive, but when successful allow the fire department to enhance and improve their equipment and safety without hurting the taxpayers’ pocket. Matt Marcarelli is at the forefront of these grant efforts.”

Support for this grant was provided by State Representative Joe Zullo as well as Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Chris Murphy who have been historic supporters of this grant program.