The East Providence Fire Department will gain access to significant federal money to upgrade its equipment as part of an effort led by the state’s Congressional contingent.

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced a total of $4,216,959 in federal funding to help a dozen fire departments across the state purchase new equipment and recruit new firefighters. The monies are derived from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.

For its part, the EPFD will use $807,220 to purchase 74 portable radios, three mobile radios, three accountability systems, 10 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and 13 cardiac monitors.

“Support in the form of AFG grants helps to save lives,” said East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva. “The nearly $1 million in funding will go a long way in equipping our firefighters with the technology and life-saving equipment that will benefit the residents of East Providence for years to come.”

Also receiving funding were Warwick, Woonsocket, Middletown, Harmony (Chepachet), Little Compton, Coventry, North Scituate, and Saylesville (Lincoln) Fire Departments, along with the Rhode Island Fire Academy in Exeter, the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Association and the Union Fire District in South Kingstown.