WASHINGTON, D.C. Rep. Mike Conaway (TX-11) announced recently that the DeLeon Fire Department will be given $168,675 from the 2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“The grant is to be used for the purchase of a new 3,000 gallon tanker,” said DeLeon Fire Chief Doyle Rone. “It will replace the old 78 model military tanker we’ve been using.”

Rone added that the DVFD will have to come up with 10 percent of the grant as matching funds.

“Congress recognizes the importance that first responders play in keeping our communities safe,” Conaway said. “Firefighter grants are vital to our nation’s fire departments and we will continue to work closely with the fire service community to help meet their needs.”

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program assists local fire departments to purchase firefighting equipment, fund firefighter health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical service programs, and conduct fire education programs throughout the United States.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the Department’s United States Fire Administration.

“I would like to give a big thank you to all local, state and federal officials for writing letters of support,” Rone said. “And a special thank you to Stephen Watson, of the Eastland Fire Department, for his assistance with writing the grant.