PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Providence Fire Department has been awarded nearly $1 million for training and equipment.
The state’s congressional delegation says the department is getting federal funding through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program.
The money will be used to train 173 officers in National Fire Protection Association courses, buy fitness equipment and expand the department’s peer fitness program.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare says the grant will help them revamp the fitness program, prevent injuries and improve firefighters’ overall health, wellness, fitness, safety and job performance.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, says the grant will help ensure that Providence firefighters are ready to respond to any call their physically-demanding profession requires.
Rhode Island first responders have been awarded $38 million through the grant program since 2001.
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