Emmitsburg Mayor Frank Davis voted for Donald Trump in hopes he would cut federal spending. Now Davis hopes those cuts don’t include the permanent cancellation of classes at the National Fire Academy, which is part of the town’s identity and helps drive its economy. Davis is also a chief at Emmitsburg’s firehouse, known as the Vigilant Hose Company.
Justin T. Gellerson for NPR
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Justin T. Gellerson for NPR
Emmitsburg Mayor Frank Davis voted for Donald Trump in hopes he would cut federal spending. Now Davis hopes those cuts don’t include the permanent cancellation of classes at the National Fire Academy, which is part of the town’s identity and helps drive its economy. Davis is also a chief at Emmitsburg’s firehouse, known as the Vigilant Hose Company.
Justin T. Gellerson for NPR
President Trump’s rapid-fire spending cuts have affected communities all over the country — including strongholds of his supporters.
One of them is Rising Sun, Maryland. The town had won two FEMA grants designed to mitigate the effects of catastrophic flooding. And though the area voted overwhelmingly to support Trump’s re-election, his administration has now cancelled the program that funded those grants.
Across the state in the Trump-voting town of Emmitsburg, Maryland, a similar scenario is playing out. The town is home to the National Fire Academy — a sort of national war college for training firefighters in America. In March, the Trump administration abruptly cancelled classes at the academy, and locals are concerned about how that will affect the town’s economy — and emergency preparedness across the country.
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This episode includes reporting by Rebecca Hersher and Bente Birkeland. It was produced by Connor Donevan and Brianna Scott, with engineering by Zo vanGinhoven. It was edited by Catherine Laidlaw, Ravenna Koenig and Christopher Intagliata. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.