Gov. Josh Shapiro joined members of the Harrisburg Fire Bureau and local officials on Tuesday for a press conference at Fire Station 1 on N. 6th Street.
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited the Harrisburg Fire Bureau to recognize their critical role in the arson fire at his home, while presenting a multi-million-dollar boost to city funding.
Shapiro joined local officials at a press conference on Tuesday to celebrate the significantly increased state fire protection allocation to the city, in the wake of the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence in April.
As part of the 2025-2026 state budget, Harrisburg was awarded $7 million for its fire protection fund, a $2 million jump from the previous year’s allotment.
According to Enterline, the city had not received an increase in this funding in 10 years.
Shapiro said that Enterline had been pushing for the funding hike.
“My interactions with the chief dated back to July of 2023,” Shapiro said. “He put me in the cherry picker, and we went up […] the chief kept going higher and higher and higher and he had me in this little cage about 10 billion feet up in the air and he said, ‘Hey while I have you gov, let me talk to you a little bit about the funding needs we have.’”
However, Shapiro said that, after his family’s experience with the bureau during the April arson fire at their residence in Uptown Harrisburg, the funding need became more urgent to him.
“I knew that Harrisburg had a unique need, as the chief told me when we were up in the cherry picker, and I think the attack on our family just kind of crystallized the need of urgency to get it done now,” he said.
Enterline said the extra money, which is included in Harrisburg’s 2026 budget that passed on Monday, will help with both short-term financial needs and long-term planning.
“This additional funding is crucial, preliminarily helping to defray the persistent inflationary costs that affect our bureau every year,” Enterline said. “More strategically, this investment positions us to initiate critical long-term initiatives.”
Shapiro said the raise represents a new funding floor for the city’s fire bureau to bolster the department’s efforts.
“Today would not be possible had it not been for the bipartisan support of the House, the Senate, the governor and his great team,” Enterline said. “This public demands and deserves a well-staffed, well-equipped fire department that is ready to respond to any emergency at any time, at a moment’s notice.”
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