The Federal Emergency Management Agency is awarding $554,509 to Hood River County fire agencies.  The regional grant will assist county agencies in purchasing 89 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus with spare bottles and masks.  Hood River Fire & EMS Chief Leonard Damian says the grant will be used to replace aging equipment over fifteen years old.  Hood River County’s grant was the single largest in Oregon during this year’s round of federal assistance to the Firefighters Grant Program.  That program was created by Congress in 2001 and is now administered by FEMA, and is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.   Through the program, FEMA will pay for 90 percent of the equipment costs with the county agencies responsible for the remainder.