A news Web site publisher in upstate New York and a citizen open government activist have been awarded a litigation grant from the Knight FOI Fund to press a legal action against the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company, which continues to insist it is not subject to New York state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and Open Meetings Law (OML).

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a total of $50 million in grants to five institutions to support the construction of new scientific research facilities that will explore everything from nanometer-scale electronics and “green” buildings to microbe ecosystems in the oceans.

State Farm Insurance Company gave the Fire Museum of Maryland a $5,000 grant to help provide fire safety programs to Title One Schools in the Baltimore (MD) Metropolitan Area.

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has released several new resources to help fire and emergency service departments meet the challenges of a broad range of situations, including the tragedy of a line-of-duty death, the complexities of writing federal grant applications, adopting environmentally-friendly practices, and working with legislators to advance fire service legislation.

The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) recently received a Fire Prevention and Safety grant to develop a free on-line guide to assist jurisdictions planning to implement a residential fire sprinkler requirement in their community and are seeking input on successful implementations in rural areas and small communities.

The National Governors Association (NGA) today sent a letter to Congressional Leaders urging support for the passage of S. 3756, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of 2010, to ensure that our nation’s first responders have access to sufficient spectrum to communicate during emergencies.

Ten fire departments can again turn to their own community residents to help them earn desperately needed funding: Liberty Mutual Insurance's $100,000 BeFireSmart Safety Pledge Program renews today, enabling community members to complete a fire safety quiz at www.BeFireSmart.com that could lead to their local department earning one of ten $10,000 grants.

Department of Homeland Security has announced the adoption of standards for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep), which seeks to improve private sector preparedness for disasters and emergencies. To help facilities achieve this goal, Emergency Film Group has produced Facility Emergency Management, a DVD-based training program that will help small and medium-sized organizations develop and implement an emergency plan for use at incidents of all sizes.

As students complete each of the sweepstakes modules on cooking fire safety, egress, and alcohol they are automatically entered into a drawing for iPods, pizza certificates from Domino's, flameless candles and smoke alarms. Sweepstakes starts September 6.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program has $420 million in funding available for FY 2010, which is double the amount of the previous grant year. A new video helps new and returning applicants to take advantage of this one-time opportunity.

For their third Tough Test, Toughbook Depot teamed up with the Ventura County Hogs charity football team. The Hogs played a team of firefighters in a most unusual football game, with the Toughbook laptop acting as the football. See what happens when our low cost refurbished Toughbook laptop goes head to head with a 275-lb. linebacker!

The Commission on Fire Accreditation, International convened in Chicago, Illinois, on August 24-26, 2010.  A total of 12 fire departments received their Accredited Agency Status; 11 fire departments received Reaccredited Status and three fire departments received deferral status.

Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company is proud to announce the local fire departments selected to receive funding through a $300,000 grant package designed to help make communities safer.

The City of Boston is purchasing a new state of the art fireboat with Chemical, Biological and Radiological emergency response capability for the Boston (MA) Fire Department.

During the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) application period, the help desk will operate Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is releasing grant guidance and application materials under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program (SAFER).

On July 14, the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee approved legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY 2011, including providing $390 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and $420 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.

Members of Australia's Werribee Fire Brigade Road Rescue crew were jubilant when it was announced on July 27, 2010, that they were the Australian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) 2010 Australasian Rescue Champions.

Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeters will be distributed to every fire district in the state of Delaware during a statewide training event at the main fire station (304 Main Street in Odessa) on August 6-7, 2010