The City of Salisbury Fire Department is pleased to announce that it has been named a recipient of a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant in the amount of $1,527,738 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the hiring of additional firefighters. The SAFER grant is intended to help municipalities and local fire departments improve their staffing and deployment capabilities in order for them to respond to emergencies more effectively.
The SAFER grant is awarded for a period of three years. The grant will pay for 75 percent of the salary and benefits for each of the additional firefighters in the first and second year of the grant; the third year of the grant funds 35 percent of salary and benefits.
“We are excited that we have been selected to receive this highly competitive grant and for the opportunity that it brings to the City and its citizens by placing these additional firefighters on duty,” Fire Chief John Tull said.
The Fire Department will present this award notification to the City Council and seek their approval to accept the awarded grant funds. SFD previously secured the same grant in 2012, and was able to hire all of the grant-funded firefighters on to permanent positions with the department.
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