Agencies in Albemarle, Buckingham and Greene counties will receive grants totalling nearly a quarter of a million dollars to improve emergency preparedness.
The grants will come from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s State Homeland Security Grant Program.
Every year, federal priorities for the grants are set, and states file applications based on these priorities and their needs. In the past, some grants have focused on issues of terrorism, while others have centered on natural disasters, such as hurricanes, said Laura Southard, the public outreach coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
“This year, in the 2014 grant program, one of the priorities was to help the first responder agencies get tools and equipment and other resources they might need to keep communities in Virginia [and other states] safe and better prepared,” Southard said.
The Office of the Secretary of Public Health received 187 proposals, which totaled more than $23 million, but the office only accepted about one-fifth of the proposals.
“There’s been less money for the states and the localities than when the program started after 9/11,” Southard said. “There was more work to do and more money — we should be better prepared to respond at this point.”
The Albemarle County Sheriff’s office is among one of the agencies who received a grant. The grant of $6,745 will be used to purchase a thermal imaging device to be used for search and rescue.
“This device will enable us to pick up thermal images in both day and night,” Sheriff J.E. Harding said. “It will prove helpful in areas of thick cover.”
Harding said most grants that the Charlottesville area receive go to the Albemarle County Police Station because it is a larger organization.
“We provide most of search and rescue for Albemarle County, so that’s why the grant was awarded to us,” Harding said.
After receiving grants from the federal government, VDEM is responsible for allocating the money to localities, including counties and towns, based on the project proposals they submit. This year, local emergency managers had a say in which local proposals would be approved.
“[The proposals] could be equipment that they need, such as personal protective equipment, training, and sometimes the money can be used for communicating with the public theater through brochures, websites or meetings.” Southard said.
In addition to the thermal imaging device, Albemarle County received funding for new personal protective equipment such as face masks, video imaging software and safety vests, for a total of $42,910. Buckingham County and Greene County received $189,171 and $9,000, respectively.
“Virginia has a great relationship with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” Southard said. “We had one of the terrorist attacks happen in Virginia when the Pentagon was hit by a plane. We’ve had really great success with getting funding and using it for projects helpful across the state.”
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