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Deadline for Fire Station Construction Grant Applications Is July 10
7/1/2009
| July 1, 2009 -- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighters Fire Station Construction grant application period will end at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 10, 2009. Fire Station Construction grants will provide funding directly to fire departments on a competitive basis to build new or modify existing fire stations in order to enhance response capabilities and better protect communities from fire and fire-related hazards. The Fire Station Construction grants were derived from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Congress appropriated a total of $210 million for Fiscal Year 2009 for this program.
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House Approves Doubling SAFER Funding
7/1/2009
| July 1, 2009 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a Homeland Security Appropriation bill that doubles funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. The bill calls for spending $420 million on the program, which provides grants to help communities hire fire fighters. The bill also provides funding for a variety of other fire service programs, including $390 million for the Assistance Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, commonly known as FIRE Act grants. |
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New Haven Fire Fighters Prevail
6/29/2009
| June 29, 2009 -- Eighteen New Haven, Connecticut, fire fighters who filed suit in federal court against the city of New Haven after the city threw out the results of promotional exams prevailed over the City today when the United States Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, reversed a lower court’s decision. In the case, Ricci v. DeStefano, the Supreme Court ruled that the City of New Haven could not throw out the results of a promotional exam simply because it feared the outcome of a test could potentially leave it vulnerable to lawsuits from minority fire fighters who did not qualify for promotion as a result of a test, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. |
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President Obama Approves New SAFER Rules
6/24/2009
| June 24, 2009 -- President Barack Obama has approved new rules that govern how fire departments can use funding from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, an important change during the economic crisis that has caused widespread layoffs of fire fighters throughout the country. The new guidelines will apply to the $210 million that Congress approved for SAFER for Fiscal Year 2009. The IAFF wrote and lobbied for the new provision that was included in HR 2346, the Supplemental Appropriation bill – which was initiated and supported by President Obama – to allow the use of SAFER grant funding to rehire laid-off fire fighters and prevent fire department staffing reductions that occurred as a result of the current financial crisis. |
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IAFF Mourns the Loss of Ed McMahon
6/23/2009
| June 23, 2009 -- International Association of Fire Fighters General President and Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Harold Schaitberger issued a statement on the death of Ed McMahon. MDA has also released a statement. |
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