GRFD secures federal staffing grant

GRFD secures federal staffing grant
Grand Rapids Fire Department said the additional staffing will increase the safety of citizens by adding one firefighter to each ladder company housed at Martin Luther King Fire Station and Kalamazoo Avenue Fire Station.<strong> Photo via Facebook.com </strong>

The Grand Rapids Fire Department recently was awarded a grant to assist with staffing.

GRFD this week said it received a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to hire eight firefighters for three years at no cost to the city.

More than $2.8 million was awarded to GRFD. According to the department, the additional staffing will increase the safety of citizens by adding one firefighter to each ladder company housed at Martin Luther King Fire Station and Kalamazoo Avenue Fire Station.

“This grant along with other FEMA assistance that we have been lucky enough to receive will strengthen our ability to respond to areas where we have demonstrated gaps,” said GRFD Chief John Lehman. “We are very thankful for these federal programs, which reduce the stress on our city’s budget.”

The additional staff also will assist in keeping Engine Company 2 intact and ready to respond from the Martin Luther King Fire Station.

Engine Company 2 is taken out of service frequently by moving personnel to staff Utility 2 — a repurposed dump truck with a crash attenuator, which protects responders when attending to emergency incidents on the highway.

The goal of SAFER is to enhance local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards. As of September, FEMA has made 118 awards totaling $360 million.

GRFD said it will begin recruit training in January 2023.