Wilmington, MA — Ahura Corporation, award-winning manufacturer of handheld instruments for chemical identification, today announced that the FirstDefenderTM will be available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP). Designed to complement DHS grant programs such as the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) and the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), CEDAP assists state and local communities in the acquisition of equipment to prevent, deter, and respond to terrorist attacks. CEDAP is a competitive direct assistance program which enables DHS Office of Grants and Training (G&T) to provide equipment and technical assistance directly to selected jurisdictions.
“We’re pleased to have been selected to participate in CEDAP. This important program will help bring the benefits of the FirstDefender to smaller communities across the country,” said Douglas Kahn, chief executive officer of Ahura Corporation. “In addition to serving their local constituents, local and state agencies are often called upon to assist in regional response for large homeland security missions. CEDAP enables these agencies to get access to state-of-the-art equipment, which can otherwise be difficult to acquire and is vitally important to the accomplishment of these missions”, said Kahn.
FirstDefender is deployed across numerous federal agencies including the U.S. Army, U.S. Customs and Immigration, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Hazmat teams across the country ranging from the Fire Departments of New York, Washington DC, Orlando and Seattle are actively using the product, along with law enforcement agencies from the State Police of New Jersey to the Los Angeles Police Department. Dozens of other cities, counties and state agencies rely on FirstDefender for its accuracy and usability. Independently tested by the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC), FirstDefender is available via federal and state grants, the New York State HIRE contract, the GSA schedule and CEDAP.