Hopkinton Firefighters Awarded $350K In FEMA Grant

HOPKINTON, MA — Hopkinton and Ashland fire departments were awarded a joint grant of $350,000 from FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters program. The money will be used to replace obsolete portable radios, bringing both departments into compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Standards.

“Enhanced communications are the foundation of the fire service and crucial to the departments’ ability to complete their mission of preserving life and property from fire, medical, and other emergencies,” said Town Manager Norman Khumalo.

Hopkinton Fire Deputy Miller and Ashland Fire Lieutenant Boland said the opportunity to work on a regional grant was a positive benefit to both communities and their departments.

“Having effective communications on all emergencies is a crucial part of our operations, and these new portable radios will assure that our staff has state of the art communications,” they said.

“I am thrilled that Hopkinton and Ashland were awarded a regional grant to fund critically-needed emergency response equipment, in this case portable radios to improve communication,” said Senate President Karen Spilka. “ I am very pleased that our towns worked together to secure additional resources to further protect our regions’ residents.”

The goal of the AFG Program is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. According to the FEMA website, since 2001 AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.