Washington, D.C. -  Today Congressman Joe Donnelly announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be awarding nearly $120,000 worth of equipment to first responders in north central Indiana. 

The awards come through the Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP), a competitive grant program that provides equipment and training to law enforcement and first responder agencies in smaller jurisdictions and certain metropolitan areas.  This year, 3,709 applications for CEDAP grants were submitted to FEMA by first responder agencies from across the country, and 1,853 were accepted for award.

“I want to commend all six recipients for their outstanding efforts this year to compete for these awards,” Donnelly said. “They work hard every day to respond to emergencies and make our communities safe. It is my hope that this equipment will make their jobs a little easier.”

Awardees will receive the following pieces of equipment:

Concord Township Fire Department in Elkhart:                 
A PEAC Incident Command Kit for responding to and assessing chemical   biological and radiological hazards. Valued at $21,274.

Harris Fire Department in Granger:                                 
A CEDAP Chemical Detection Kit.  Valued at $30,936.

Knox City Police Department:                                        
A TacSight SE35 Advanced Thermal Imager to see heat signatures of people and objects.  Valued at $11,794.

Noble Township Volunteer Fire Department in Union Mills:
An HLS-CAM Training, Certification, and Vulnerability Assessment Kit.  Valued at $32,275.

St. Joseph County Police Department:
A TacSight SE35 Advanced Thermal Imager to see heat signatures of people and objects.  Valued at $11,794.

Starke County Sheriff Department:                                 
A TacSight SE35 Advanced Thermal Imager to see heat signatures of people and objects.  Valued at $11,794.