NORWICH – Three Chenango County fire departments are in line to receive hundreds of thousands in federal grant dollars to assist with the needs of first responders and EMS professionals.

Nearly $834,000 is being disbursed to six fire departments in Chenango, Cortland, and Oneida counties through the 2015 Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The grants will help firefighters in these departments update equipment so that they have the tools necessary to ensure public safety. The goal of the grant program is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations.

In Chenango County, departments in Afton, Oxford, and Norwich will all benefit. The City of Norwich Fire Department and the Village of Oxford Fire Department will both utilize the grant money for operations and safety. Oxford is slated to receive $112,200 while Norwich will get $225,334.

“It’s an extremely competitive grant, so we’re fortunate to get it,” said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, noting that the grant application is open to all volunteer, paid, and combination fire departments in the country.

The NFD has also applied for a second acquisition grant through FEMA which it hopes to use for the purchase a new ambulance, but Chawgo said there’s currently no word that it will be awarded. Nevertheless, the department has been successful with federal grants in the past. In 2009, it received money to upgrade its communication equipment; and in 2015, it was awarded money to replace a retired firefighter with a new full-time employee.