Groveland Fire Department. (Courtesy photograph.)
Groveland Fire Department was recently awarded $7,226 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to buy personal protective equipment and related disinfectant supplies and equipment to help prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money is part of $560,726 in direct assistance grants to 39 volunteer and combination fire departments nationwide as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act Assistance to Firefighters Grant COVID-19 Supplemental.
By law, 25% of the available grants must be awarded to volunteer fire departments and another 25 percent must be awarded to combination fire departments. A volunteer fire department has an all-volunteer force of firefighting personnel, while a combination department has both paid and volunteer firefighters. Fire departments with paid, but on-call firefighters, are also in this category.