DANBURY, Conn. – A federal grant will help the Danbury Fire Department to buy portable radios.

The $336,728 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant recently was announced by U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy.

“We are excited to announce today’s FEMA grant to the Danbury Fire Department,” said Esty, Blumenthal and Murphy in a press release. “Our firefighters work diligently to keep our communities safe, constantly putting their lives on the line. These funds will go a long way to help improve communications, which will ensure that these brave men and women of the Danbury Fire Department can continue to do their jobs effectively and safely.”

“This is just phenomenal, and we are very fortunate to be receiving this AFG grant for portable radios," said Danbury Fire Chief TJ Wiedl in a press release. "The funding is much needed to improve our communications infrastructure. We’ve been working on making improvements, and this federal money will help tremendously.”

Since 2001, the Assistance to Firefighter Grant program has helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards, according to a press release.