Everyone likes free money.

On Wednesday, the Selma Fire Department received a grant for $100,892 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The money given from the government will be $90,803 with a 10 percent match from the city of Selma, according to Mark Walker, the assistant fire chief in Selma.

“You always like to be able to get these grants,” said Walker. “It’s good to have that money that you need.”

The grants are offered yearly and must be applied for by the fire departments.

Walker said the largest portion of the grant would be used for much needed upgrades for communication between the station and trucks.

“This is an upgrade we have needed for years,” said Walker. “We have been just patching the old system for a while, so to be able to just have a new technology will really help.”

Walker said another portion of the money would be used to purchase a new washer and dryer set specifically designed to handle the heavy load of firefighters gear.

“This really helps,” said Walker. “Normal washers can’t handle the gear. This will allow us to get a lot more of those contaminants that are on the outside of the gear. That will be great for the health of our firefighters.”

Walker said the remainder of the money would be used for training the firefighters.