The Middleboro Fire Department has been awarded $422,815 through a regional Assistance to Firefighters grant, Fire Chief Owen Thompson said.

Grant funds will be used to purchase new portable radios, truck-mounted mobile radios and portable repeaters. Additionally, an emissions exhaust system will be installed at both the Middleboro Fire Department Headquarters, 125 N Main St, and Middleboro North Fire Station #3, 58 Bedford St.

The Town of Middleboro will match the grant award by 10 percent, bringing the total funding available to the department to $465,000.

“This federal grant in support of the Middleboro Fire Department will ensure our first responders are able to better communicate during incidents, which will save lives and better protect our firefighters from harm,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Keating. “Firefighters put their lives on the line every day to protect us, and I am proud of this federal investment which will ensure Middleboro’s firefighters have the best equipment to accomplish their vital mission.”

Assistance to Firefighters Grants are allocated to fire departments nationally to fund and aid the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations.

These federal grants help firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.