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The Troup County Fire Department will receive $288,661.98 for the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant for new hoses and accessories. 

“It is a big deal, this amount,” said Councilmember Ellis Cadenhead.

The company, NAFECO, won the bid to supply the equipment with the grant money. The grant comes with a 10 percent match from the county. 

“It’s gonna tremendously help the Troup County Fire Department: increase our water flow, water supply capabilities on fire scenes in the areas,” said Michael Strickland, Chief of Troup County FD. 

County Manager, Eric Mosley added, “We’ve been very blessed for the past five or so years to receive a lot of grants for our fire department and been very aggressive in our grant search. Certainly having a full-time grant manager on staff has helped.”

Strickland added that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant is administered by the federal government through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“[The FEMA Act] is due to expire Sept. 30 of the US government fiscal year. Right now our US Congress is taking up reauthorization of the FEMA Act to fund it for another 5 years,” Strickland said. “I have reached out to our local congressman, Mr [Drew] Ferguson to make sure he understands the importance of this grant and hopefully he will support it at his level. 

The fire chief adds that the decision to reauthorize could see widespread ramifications.

“If it does not get reauthorized it is going to severely impact fire departments across the country and their ability to deliver services,” Strickland said.