U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today announced that the Taylorville Fire Department has been awarded a grant for operations and safety from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. “Firefighter grants from the Dept. of Homeland Security are highly sought after and therefore highly competitive,” said Davis. “Congratulations to the Taylorville Fire Department for winning this grant, an important step to ensuring and up-to-date training for our first responders.” The grant, from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, is in the amount of $5,455 and will be used to pay instructor fees for training fire departments throughout Christian County. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an important component of the larger, coordinated effort to strengthen the Nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards. Since 2001, the AFG has provided approximately $5.6 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much-needed emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles, and training.