WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded 13 grants to fire departments across the United States for the Fiscal Year 2007 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER).
The purpose of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants is to help fire departments increase the number of frontline firefighters. The goal is for fire departments to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities and ultimately attain 24-hour staffing, thus assuring that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
The SAFER grants support two specific activities: (1) the hiring of firefighters, and (2) recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. The hiring of firefighters activity provides grants to pay for part of the salaries of newly hired firefighters over the 5-year program.
