Seventeen Kankakee County Fire Departments to Benefit from $1.42 Million Grant Awarded to Manteno Fire Protection District

Congresswoman Robin Kelly announced today that the Manteno Fire Protection District was awarded a $1.42 million federal grant which will benefit 17 fire protection districts throughout Kankakee County.

The grant money will purchase leading-edge portable radios for Kankakee County firefighters. As a result of the upgrades, Kankakee fire districts will meet 2020 national compliance standards for digital mobile radio communications used by public safety organizations.

"Two-way radios are lifesavers for first responders," Congresswoman Kelly said. "It's vital that our firefighters have the highest quality communication equipment as they work to keep us safe. I'm grateful for Manteno Fire Chief Scott O'Brien's leadership and foresight to take a regional approach to grant-writing by including seventeen Kankakee County fire departments in this proposal."

"This is a good example of us all working together," Fire Chief O'Brien said. "This grant will be a huge benefit to all the fire protection districts in Kankakee County. We were in dire need of radio upgrades at a time when municipal budgets are extremely tight. We greatly appreciate the help from FEMA and from Congresswoman Kelly's office."

Kankakee Fire Departments that will benefit from the grant are: Aroma Fire Protection District, Bourbonnais Fire Protection District, Bradley Fire Department, Cabery Area Fire Protection District, Essex Fire Protection District, Grant Park Fire Protection District, Pilot (Herscher) Township Fire Protection District, Kankakee Fire Department, Kankakee Township Fire Protection District, Limestone Township Fire Protection District, Manteno Community Fire Protection District, Momence Fire Protection District, Otto Township Fire Protection District, Pembroke Fire Protection District, Reddick Community Fire Protection District, Salina (Bonfield) Township Fire Protection District and St. Anne Fire Protection District.

Last week, Congresswoman Robin Kelly announced that nine South Suburban fire departments were awarded federal grants totaling more than $1.5 million. The grants will be used to hire, recruit and improve operations and safety within the departments. Fire Departments receiving awards were: Burnham Fire Department, Crete Township Fire Protection District, Flossmoor Fire Department, Harvey Fire Department, Glenwood Fire Department, Limestone Township Fire Protection District, Phoenix Fire Department and the Homewood Fire Department.

The grants were awarded through the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

The purpose of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program is to strengthen the nation's overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards. Since 2001, the AFG Program has provided approximately $7.1 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much-needed emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, as well as firefighting and emergency vehicles and training.

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