FEMA announces new states for national fire prevention program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that 10 additional states will participate in a national community volunteer fire prevention program.
In each of these states, three communities representing an urban, suburban, and rural area will receive federal funding up to $25,000. In the current fiscal year, the entire program is funded at $2 million—an increase of $1 million over initial funding.
The program, initiated last year by FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration, seeks to reduce the loss of life and property due to fires. The United States has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world.
This program is the first concentrated federal effort to combine the resources of government at all levels with those of the fire service, the private sector, and community volunteers to build and support successful fire prevention programs at the state and community level.
The 10 new states, selected because of their high fire death risk are: Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The District of Columbia will also receive a similar grant to establish an urban program.
Last year, in the pilot phase of this community program, 30 community-based projects were established in the following 10 states: Alaska, California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Utah.
The projects in these states will be continued, and new ones will be set up in the new states.
In addition to the funding that will be provided directly to the selected community projects, each state will receive a small grant to set up a committee, appointed by the governor, to review and select the three community projects to receive funds.
