By Staff
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced that first responders from across the state will receive Homeland Security grants totaling $1.5 million.
“Homeland Security is hometown security,” Ivey said Monday. “Our first responders are the first line of defense for Alabama. As such recent events as hurricanes that swept through the Southeast to the terrorist attack in New York City demonstrated, first responders must be trained and ready to respond to natural disasters and man-made events.”
“I want to thank Governor Ivey for her support of men and women who dedicate their own lives to protecting the lives and property of Alabama’s citizens. These grants will further enhance their capability to be ready when needed,” Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Hal Taylor said.
Among the benefactors of the grant, 43 first-responder organizations of varying sizes will receive the 2017 grants.
The grants include funds for equipment such as a metal detector scanner for Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, camera system for Morgan County EMA and radios for Camden Police Department, Bullock County Sheriff’s Office and Mount Weisner Fire Department.
ALEA administers the FEMA State Homeland Security Grant Program in Alabama. All local first-responder agencies were eligible to apply for funding.
Representatives from such first-responder professional associations as the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers, Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police, Alabama Fire Chiefs Association and the Alabama Sheriffs Association reviewed and scored grant applications.
The grants will provide sheriffs’ offices, police departments, fire departments and other first responders the opportunity to acquire new equipment, as well as to conduct training in three categories: interoperable communications, critical infrastructure/soft target protection and weapons of mass destruction response.
The federal government’s “FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program plays an important role in the implementation of the National Preparedness System by supporting the building, sustainment, and delivery of core capabilities essential to achieving the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient Nation.”
Ivey is seeking a term as governor in the June 5 Republican primary.
