Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced a $170,000 federal grant for the Jefferson Fire Department this morning. The funding will be used to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus devices. 

"Jefferson Fire and Rescue is like many small town departments in Maine that do a lot with limited resources. They are all volunteer and provide a vital service to the community very efficiently and federal grants like this help them extend their capabilities without putting an added strain on local taxpayers," Pingree said.

"The gear we have is at the end of its service life and doesn't meet current standards. This would have been a big expense that would have been impossible to afford at the local level," said Jefferson Fire Chief Walter Morris. "And the new units will be equipped with state of the art systems, like a safety feature that warns us if a first responder goes down while fighting a fire."

The funding is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.