Today, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced that the Wantage Fire Department will be receiving $102,000 in federal funds for safety and operations as a part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. AFG awards allow fire departments to purchase or upgrade equipment, vehicles, workplace training, and other firefighting and fire prevention activities. 

This award is Wantage’s first Assistance to Firefighters Grant in 13 years. 

“I applaud the Wantage Fire Department for their success in receiving their first AFG grant in over a decade, clawing back federal tax dollars to keep our first responders safe as they protect our communities from everything from lone wolf terrorism to fire emergencies,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “For too long, our region has received back on pennies on the dollar we send to Washington. That’s why I’ve been laser focused since day one on improving the return on investment we see for our federal taxes, and I’m proud to help local communities like Wantage secure these resources for something as critical as our fire fighters’ safety.”

Congressman Gottheimer has been laser focused on encouraging North Jersey towns and first responders to apply for AFG grants and other similar grant programs to return federal tax dollars to North Jersey. Not only was his first public district event after being sworn in to encourage fire departments to apply for federal grants, but he has also hosted several return on investment roundtables to help local communities learn about the federal resources available to them and best practices to secure these grants. 

###