DENVER – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded a $3.9 million grant to the State of Utah. The grant will go toward structural retrofitting for 215 homes along the Wasatch Fault in the Salt Lake City area.
The Fix the Bricks program is a hazard mitigation program designed to assist owners of unreinforced masonry dwellings, or URMs, with structural improvements to reduce the risk of injury due to structural collapse in an earthquake.
“Fix the Bricks is a great example of a locally managed program supported by federal grants that could have life-saving impacts for the people of Salt Lake City,” said FEMA Region VIII Regional Administrator Lee DePalo. “The Wasatch Fault poses a very real threat to Utah communities.”
The program is an initiative by Salt Lake City Emergency Management, funded with FEMA grants. The grant amount represents a 75 percent federal cost-share, with the total cost of the project being $5.2 million. Under the Fix the Bricks program, property owners are responsible for the remaining 25 percent.
This marks the third round of FEMA grants associated with the Fix the Bricks program. The first, in 2017, was $500,000, with $1.9 million awarded in 2018.
Funding for this grant is from FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, which is designed to assist states, federally-recognized tribes, territories, and local communities with projects designed to reduce community impacts and federal recovery costs in future disasters.
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