WASHINGTON, D.C. – Each year, fire departments around the country are able to purchase needed firefighting equipment, conduct training and recruit new members thanks to federal grant programs. Now that funding is in jeopardy, according to Senator Charles E. Schumer.

On Wednesday, the New York Democrat told members of the press that funding for the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs is slated to be reduced by approximately 17 percent. The proposed cuts are included in the House’s 2012 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. Both grant programs are administered by the Department of Homeland Security.

Schumer, who helped author the bi-partisan 2001 bill which created the AFG grant program, has pledged to see the funding restored.

“Firefighters are our first line of defense in an emergency, but just as we count on firefighters to help protect us, they count on us to provide them with the funding they need to hire new firefighters, buy equipment, and provide the best possible training,” the senator said Wednesday.

While Schumer acknowledged that spending cuts were necessary on the federal level, he said this was not an area which should be targeted.

“Making sure that our fire departments have the tools they need to keep us safe is absolutely essential, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect this critical program that has benefited hundreds of Upstate communities,” he said.

According to Schumer, New York’s volunteer and paid fire departments have received $41 million in grants through the two programs since 2009. Just shy of $5.4 million of that total found its way to 59 departments in the Southern Tier.

Three Chenango departments – Afton, Mt. Upton’s Borden Hose Company, and the City of Norwich – each received grants during that time period, totaling $191,654.