December 13 - Congressman Zach Wamp announced that the Harrogate Volunteer Fire Department in Claiborne County will soon receive much needed equipment to protect its volunteer fire fighters serving the community. The Volunteer Fire Department was recently awarded a grant to purchase new equipment from the Assistance to Fire Fighters grant program from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Harrogate’s volunteer fire fighters serve the community proudly and provide secondary support to surrounding rural communities,” said Congressman Wamp. “The fire department will now be able to provide much needed equipment for its volunteers, allowing the fire fighters to respond to emergencies more quickly and be better protected as they help save lives.”

The Harrogate Volunteer Fire Department covers seven square miles and serves more than 5,000 residents. The department plans to use the operations and safety grant to purchase four self-contained breathing apparatuses to help the fire fighters breathe in a hazardous environment, a cascade system to refill the breathing apparatuses and some equipment to aid in extrication.